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AGRICULTURAL
TOPICS OF INTEREST RELATIVE
XO FARM AN1» GARDEN.
Preventing Fermentation of Cider.
There are many different ways ot pre¬
the venting fermentation, but in any case
cider ought to stand in large open
casks long enough to ferment slightly,
so as to cause a considerable scum to
rise to the surface, when it may be
skimmed off, and also give time for the
sediment to settle at the bottom before
anything is else is done with it. jS'othing
more important than to abstract by
natural means the minute particles of
pomace that are held in solution by the
cider.
cider A quite effective way of cleansing the
and preventing after fermentation
is to scald it just after it has been slight¬
ly fermented and settled. To do this it
may he drawn off or dipped out of the
casks into large copper kettles, or for
large quantities an old copper still,hold¬
ing When three or fonr barrels, will be better.
large fire is applied the heat will cause
a amount of scum to rise at once to
the top to be skimmed off.
The heating should cease as soon as
the boiling is reached, when the cider is
again placed in clean, open casks to
stand and settle until it has become en¬
tirely cold, when it may be drawn into
barrels and tightly bunged.
The effect of the scaling, if done at
the right t me, is two fold. It quite
thoroughly the cleanses the cider and stops
fermentation at the right point to
leave it a sweet and pleasant drink.
While cider thus treated will afterward
taste somewhat of the scalding, it will not
be unpleasant to those who like it sweet,
and is to be preferred to cider in which
the fermentation has been arrested by
mustard seed or chemicals. Cider
in any of these ways will not afterward
make good vinegar.
Where the quantity of cider to be
made will not justify the expense of
casks, the cider may be fermented and
settled in barrels, bungs open, by draw¬
ing from one to another.— Neu> York
World.
Plows and Plowing.
The plow has long been used as the
symbol of agriculture. The finely made
and beautifully ornamented steel plow
which Victoria sent to the Queen of
Madagascar by was years afterward found
some missionaries, who had pene¬
trated into the interior of the island, in
a temple. It had its place among the
representation of the deities the natives
worshipped God of and was They recognized did as the
agriculture. not em¬
ploy furrow it in their fields, or leave it in a
have done. to rest, They as western prostrated farmers might
themselves
have before large it and prayed grain. that they might
crops of In a museum
in Canada is a collection of the plows
used in all ages and in most countries.
They are arranged in a long row. The
first plow is a portion of a tree, one
branch being used to attach an animal
to and another used as a handle. By
their order they show the evolution of
the plow that is now employed in the
most advanced countries, Attempts
have been made to show that the pro¬
gress of agriculture may best be shown
Dy improvements in the plow that turns
the soil.
best It plows is generally acknowledged world that the
in the are made in this
country. It is also admitted that the
work done with them is very poor. Ob¬
serving plowing travelers done state that much and better
is in Great Britain in
many portions of the continent of Eu¬
rope than in this country. This state of
things is explained by assuming that
very excellent plows lead to carelessness
in the use of them. When an imple¬
ment can be depended upon to do good
work it is often if not generally placed
In the hands of a person who has little
judgment, hut expert experience do good or skill, plowing None with
an can
a other poor plow. In the England, plowman 'as in some
countries, ranks
above the common farm laborer. He is
regarded as a skilled workman. guide Ordi¬
narily he does nothing but the
plow. He makes a careful study of the
business and becomes very expert. In
ibis country boys and girls tend ma¬
chines in great manufacturing establish¬
ments and turn out articles that can only
be made by skilled mechanics who use
common tools. On our farms incompe¬
tent persona are trusted with the use of
plows and are expected to do good work
because the plows are so easy to manage.
have Large tendency farms and low make prices plowing for grain'
a to poor.
When a plow can be run half a mile
without meeting with an impediment the
skill person holding it docs not acquire the
of one who plows among stumps
and stones. lie relies on his plow to do
everything. tool is He seems to forget that a
not endowed with intelligence.
The appearance of fields in many parts
of the country show that skillful plow¬
ing lias become a lost art. Perhaps .it
would be more nearly correct to say that
it is an art that has never been acquired.
Plowing of is so badly done in many parts
the country that it is not strange that
a brought variety of implements have been
that should out be for done supplementing the work
with the plow. The
first settlers of the country had nothing
but a wooden plow and a home-made
harrow, which was often no more than
some branches of trees bound together,
with which to prepare land for raising a
crop of grain. Farmers of the present
day have clod-crushers, revolving pul¬
verizers, rollers, and half a dozen kinds
of harrows with which to do the same
work. Still old farmers declare that
soil is not as well prepared for seeding
as it was in the good old days when
they were young.- -Chicago Times.
Screenings from the Grainfields.
to Sowing cheat shrunken wheat is an attempt
nature with light coin.
He who well drains, manures and
prepares the ground, can grow profitable
crops of wheat on almost every soil.
It is a general rule, with not more than
the usual exceptions, that the finer the
seed-bed the larger the yield of wheat.
that Wheat can be *safely grown on lands
would be ruined by washing and
gullying them. were cultivated crops kept on
It pays richly to save wheat straw care¬
fully, though it is used only as an
absorbent. Western farmers may smile,
but it is true.
The man who whitewashed his grana¬
ries with boiling hot wash, putting it in
all the cracks, did not fear the miller’s
examination of his wheat.
Treat your grain crops with an eye to
the value of the straw as well as of the
grain, and in the spring it will not be
said of your cattle, as it was said of
Ephraim, that they “feed upon wind.” '
A patch of rye and timothy seqded
together always comes “pat.” The rye
will make pasture in the spring even
earlier than bluegrass, and by the time
the rye fails the timothy will he ready.
There is nothing like a steady succession
of pasturage.
Rye may be sown in the fall and clover
on it in the spring. The rye can be cut
for the straw (which frequently sells for
the same price per ton as the best hay)
as soon as the blossom falls, and there
will be a good growth of clover for
pasture. In this way poor land may be
made to yield a respectable income
while being improved.— American Agri¬
culturist.
The Barber’s Delicate Art
A barbqr says in the Globe-Democrat
Few people have an idea how few there
are who could become barbers by any
amount of application, I have had
nineteen apprentices at various times,
only seven of whom are tonsorial artists.
Some boys are and too nervous to cigarette acquire
the ability, particularly
smokers. Others are too lazy. Still
others have not the suaveness necessary,
for a successful barber must be a polite
man. Others have not the essential
mechanism or cannot attain to the re¬
quisite lightness of touch. But morbid
peculiarities are great factors in unfitting
a candidate. For instance, I have just
dismissed an apprentice because of his
inordinate antipathy to warts. When a
customer who is the possessor of a wart
is down in a chair at the boy’s mercy he
shaves all around it with the utmost
caie; then a devilish grin distorts his
features, the expression and he being the off fun¬ the
niest I ever saw, cuts
wart. The customer rises and discovers
his face bleeding terribly, and the result
is a row and a lost customer.
The Ainos are Beardeil Like Parflx.
The British Consul at Hokodale states
hat the Ainos—who are a remarkable
ribe of small, hairy and people, originally
living by hunting the fishing—have occupation
been in great straits since
of their fishing grounds efforts by the have Japanese
in 1869. Since 1882 been
mado to relieve their distress and to
teach them farming, cultivated and in by 1886 them. about In
808 acres were
their chief home in the island of Yesso,
the Ainos are estimated to number 14,
000 individuals, with 3600 houses. They
are supposed to Traveler. be gradually
in a.—Arkansas
HOUSEOLD MATTERS*.
To Clean Paint Work.
A steamboat steward says that house¬
keepers should go to a steamboat for
lessons on cleaning paint work. The
cabin of a steamboat, painted a dear
white,is kept quite as if the painter had
iust left it, being not only clear, but
having a beautiful polish. All that is
necessary is a little water, a sponge, pure
castile soap, and a smooth cloth for rub¬
bing after the dirt has been washed off
with the sponge. The rubbing restores
the polish. Many people paint every
year, whereas if the paint is washed in
this way it will show clear and with a
high polish for four or five years.—
Prairie Farmer.
Use Plenty of Apples.
Apples are abundant and cheap this
year, says the New York Witness, and
there is no more useful fruit. ilaw,
stewed, wholesome, baked or preserved, they are
toothsome and nutritious.
The fall apples are the most juicy and
delicious, but do not keep, and for that
reason have to be sold cheap. Every
good-sized family should buy a barrel of
them at once for immediate use, and
save them from spoiling by eating them
up A considerable portion of them
might also be made into jelly by coring
them and boilingskin and all. Red ap¬
color ples are best for this purpose, as the
of the skin gives a fine rich tint to
the jelly. A liberal allowance of lemon
juice should be added to the apple juice
and an equal weight of sugar, and the
whole boiled into a jelly. It is the
cheapest good when of all jellies, and remarkably
well made. Bought apple
jelly is not nearly so nice, and can seldom
be relied upon. It is frequently made
from the refuse of the evaporating es¬
tablishments, that is, the cores, and
skins and wormy apples.
Pickles.
For pickles of all kinds use the best
cider vinegar and not an acid, vinegar,
so-called. It cannot be too strong, as it
is weakened when scalded. Unscalded
vinegar does not keep well with pickles.
Never use a metal vessel in pickling; it
should be either granite ware or por¬
celain. Pickles should be examined fre¬
quently white and the soft ones taken out. If
specks appear in the vinegar drain
it off and scald; add a half teacup of
sugar to each gallon and pour again over
the pickles. A few bits of horse radish
or a few cloves added will improve the
flavor.
All vegetables or fruits for pickling,
except for sweet pickles, should be
sound, but not quite ripe. Co not scald
cucumbers, but soak them in salt and
water. Boiled beets can be pickled
whole, first removing the outer skin, to
be sliced when required. Vegetables
that require to be boiled or scalded before
pickling will be whiter if a little lemon
or green grape juice is added to the
water, as cabbage, cauliflower, white
beets or onions. For green vegetables
put a little soda in the water to preserve
the color. Care should be taken not to
scald too much, or they will be soft and
tasteless.
Always have the vegetables or fruit
vinegar, perfectly cold before should pouring over the
which be in all cases very
hot.
A good average of spices to a quart of
pickles spice is an even teaspoon each of all¬
and peppercorns, one-half a tea¬
spoon of mustard seed, a piece of Jamaica
ginger one inch long and a tablespoon of
stick cinnamon broken.— Detroit Free
Press.
Household Hints.
Use a warm knife in cutting warm
bread and the like.
A paste of whiting and benzine will
remove spots from marble.
A salt ham should be soaked over night
in plenty of soft water previous to boil¬
ing.
After washing a wooden bowl place it
where it will dry equally on all sides,
away from the stove.
Fruit stains on white goods can be re¬
moved by pouring boiling water directly
from the kettle over the spots.
Hive sirup is lungs. good for croup or inflam¬
mation of the It must be kept in
a cool place, for if it sours it is very
poisonous. If poached look
you want eggs to par¬
ticularly nice cook each egg in a muffin
ring placed in the bottom of a saucepan
of boiling water.
A creaking hinge can he cured by the
use of a black lead pencil of the softest
number, the point rubbed into all the
crevices of the hinge.
Corks may be made air and watertight
■
by keeping them for five minutes under
melted paraffine. They must be kept
down with a wire screen.
For cleaning brass use a thin paste ot
plate powder, two tablespoonfuls of vine¬
gar, with four tablespoonfuls flannel; of alcohol. with Rub
a piece of polish
chamois.
Suet should be cooked before it is
stale. Boil for two or three hours, then
strain through a linen cloth. One-fourth
of this fat and three-fourths lard is a
good mixture for frying doughnuts.
Be very particular about disinfecting
the kitchen sink. Washing soda, two
tablespoonfuls to a gallon of boiling
water, makes an excellent wash to pour
hot into the sink at after you have fin¬
ished using it.
Bean Lore.
The flowering beans were anciently
supposed made to light-headed; give out a perfume that
men hence, when a
person seemed unusually silly, the ex¬
pression used of him was: “Beans are
in flower.” Another saying connected
with beans was: “Ogni grano ha la sua
semola”—“Every bean has its black,”
that is its black eye. This was equivalent
to saying: “Every person has his
fault.”
Beans have always had something
since mysterious the days connected when with Pliny them ever of
wrote
Pythagoras’s “that rule against eating them, the
beans contain the souls of
dead.” And long ago in the city of
Rome the priests said that the dark
lines on bean-blossoms were letters.
Still the modern mind is doubtful as to
the success of the said priests in reading
such alphabet. But the land of mys¬
terious beans was Egypt, where the
priests dared not look upon the vege¬
table.
To Pope Euticianus is attributed “the
blessynge the ghosts of benes dead upon the appeased aultar,” and
of the were by
the Romans, during the J emuria, by
throwing beans on the three fire of the altar
every And other night for Popish times.
an ancient book, of 1565,
says of some ceremony to which beaus
belonged: beans “We do not use to seeth ten
or twelve together, but as many as
we meane to eate; no more must be
steepe, that is, meditate, upon ten or
twelve sinnes only, neither for ten or
twelve dayes, but upon all the sinnes
that ever we committed even from oui
birth, if it were possible to remember
them. ”— Independent.
A Bird Without a Nest
The term night-hawk is commonly ap¬
plied to several species, all of which
have certain peculiarities. From its
curious cry one is called chuck-will’s
widow, this call being uttered so loudly
by the bird that it has been heard fot
nearly a mile. About the middle of
March they come back from their winter
pilgrimage; and unlike most of the
birds, they have no housekeeping to
keep them busy, as they build no
nests. While the robbins, humming
birds, thrushes and others are busily
scouring the country for material with
which to build their nurseries, the chuck
will’s-widow is fast asleep in some out
of-the-way corner, only coming out in
the afternoon and evening to gather its
supply of food. When the time comes
for laying, our seemingly lazy bird
selects some secluded spot and deposits
her eggs anywhere on the ground, and
the very first glimpse, if we are for¬
tunate why she in builds,no finding them at The all, explains
nest. eggs are
almost the exact color of the surround¬
ings, and so mottled and tinted that dis¬
only by the merest accident are they
covered, and when the two little chuck
will’s-widows come out they are even
more difficult to find than the eggs.
Being very and, sleepy though little fellows they
rarely move, standing with¬
in a few inches of them, the observer
might suppose them to be two old brown
leaves or a bunch of moss, so deceiving,
is their mimicry.
A Duel to the Death.
Two young men in France who wen
engaged trifling to two sisters and agreed quarreled ovei
some matter, to settls
their dispute by a duel, in which both
should be wounded and one at least
should be killed. The condition agreed
upon were that the right foot of the one
should be tied to the left foot of the
other, and then, each being armed with
a dagger, they were should to stab one another
by turns until one die. Each of
the combatants received seven wounds
before one of them expired, while still
tied to his antagonist. The other was
also removed in. a dying state.— Net*
York Press. i