ember 13, 1889. Farm Notes. During damp weather, especially when northeast storms occur, keep the hens under shelter, in order to pre- vent roup in the flock. Feed your hens meat and induce them to lay. Eggs will soon be high in price, and the hens will need egg- producing food ifthey are expected to lay. One good team of heavy horses is better than two teams of ponies. The fewer the number the less work of feeding and managing them is requir- ed. When breeding any clgss of stock a | selection of the breed is the most im- | portant requisite. Some breeds de- mand better management than others and a mistake in selecting the beed may entail a loss. Experiments show that any portion of seed from en ear of corn may be used for planting, and that there is no advantage possessed by the butt seed over the tip seed, nor is the middle seed better than that from the butts or tips. Pumpkins contain 11 per cent. of solid matter. They are excellent for cows that are changed from pasture to dry food. Many dairy-men advise that the seeds be removed, as they act on the kidneys. Pumpkins should be slicea and a little bran, slightly salted, sprinkled over the pieces. When crossing for improvement of the stock the male should always be pure bred. When a graded male is used the tendency is to retard improve- ment. It requires but two or three seasons to effect a marked improve- ment on the farm stock if faithful con- sideration be given to the selection of the males. One cannot learn too much about dairying. There are many details, and it is very easy to make a mistake. The best dairymen succeed only by giv- ing the business close attention and study. Each individual animal re- quires particular management, and success depends upon faithful observ- ation of every requirement. The State Board of Agriculture of New Jersey is fostering the poultry in- dustry of that State by organizing a State poulty association. A conven- tion was held at Trenton on Decem- ber 4,all poultrymen and county Boards of Agriculture being invited. The | poultry business is now one of the most | profitable in some sections. Abandoned lands are given over to sheep, but it is doubtful if it is profit- able to keep sheep in that manner, | owing to the loss by dogs and expose: ure. Ifthe land is cut up into small fields, the sheep frequently changed and th : fields plowed, the land will be improved and some Kind ofa crop can be raised for the sheep. Too much land means taxes on that from which only partial crops can be obtained. Itis the small plots, well manared, that yield the profitable crops. It is more expensive to attempt to secure large yields from a tract re-! quiring a portion of the time to be lost in traveling it than to concentrate all | the labor on a small area. | In England the Dorking fowl stands | | at the head. It is one of the best table breeds known. In this country the | Dorking is tender when young, but har- dy when matured. The hens make good layers and wothers,and the males are superior to all others for capons. Cross- ing with Asiatic bree’s the resultis a very superior bird for practical purposes. Rye straw unbroken, sells better in | market than that which is broken; but for bedding, on the farm, it is best to cut it, as it can then be easily han- dled when added to the, manure heap. The fineness of all material enter- ing into the manure heap is import. ant as it promotes more rapid decon- position aud saves labor in handling the manure in the spring. If the frost has killed the grass and weeds and the field is dry, it will do no injury tothe grass by allowing fire run over the field, which, however, will clean it completely and give the young grass a better appearance in the spring. It should be done when the ground is frozen. Straw berry beds are benefit- ed by burning, and the plants will come out stronger next season. A frujt ladder is described by KE. S. Gilbert in New York Zribunc as fol- lows : Take a long pole of some light wood—poplar is good for the purpose— peel it and bore theholes forthe rounds. Now saw it lengthwise with a slit saw | starting a wedge as soon as you have sawed two feet ; drive it till the pole begins to split, following with the saw. or leading the crack with itas it may be ; this greatly diminishes the work | of sawing. Leave six feet or so at the small end without sawing ; slide a strong iron ring or band down to the end of the saw cat; drive a thick wedge into the ring from below until the legs ' are wide enonch apart, put in the rounds and nail them. Oue of the best methods of storing ithe droppings is to use hogsheads, as ‘barrels are uuhandy, an d a number of them will take up too much room. If the weather is cold the droppings will need no dirt or other substance, but they should be scattered over the ground as soon as spring opens. No fertilizer loses its ammonia sooner than poultry droppings, and for that reason they do not always give good results. As the hens eat a large amount of lime, grav- el, ete., there is quite a proportion of silica in the droppings, which causes them to become very hard and insolu- ble, especially if very dry, quite a long tine being required for the droppings to decompase and become soluable after being applied to the soil.—New Hawnypshive Mirror. NESTE AMERICAN mechanical paper published and has the larg- Care of the Stove. There is nothing, says an exchange, | that induces toward the comfort of the | kitchen more than a clean well kept | stove. Regular attendance to the flues | is essential to the maintenance of a steady heat. At least once a month this cleaning of flues and inside of the | stove should be part of the work. This insures perfect working of the oven, which will become slow or hot in re- sponse to drafts ina way thatis magie- al to an experienced cook, providing the stove flues are thus cared for, and | the chimney is in order. There are a great many excellent stoves in market. All first class manufacturers make sev. eral varieties of cook stoves which are marvels of construction, to such perfec- tion has the stove makers skill been brought. There is no surer indication of an ignorant cook than the common hab | it of complaining of the stove. It 1s no uncommon thing for people otherwise intelligent to