RAPE.

Dwarf Essex rape is one of the good things that can be had for nothing. I sow it in the corn at the time of last cultivation, using about four pounds of seed to the acre. It comes along well before the corn is cut, if it is not too dry a season, and after the ripening of the corn it is there and growing. Some seasons it covers the land and stands two feet high in the corn stubble. I have estimated that it was worth at least two dollars per acre as sheep pasture. I can turn in the lambs before the corn is cut and the ewes after the corn has been hauled to the husking machine, or has been husked by hand, as they will not trouble the fodder when the rape is at hand.

Rape may be grazed until Christmas most years, as it is much like cabbage in its ability to resist freezing. It should never be turned onto while the leaves are frozen, as that destroys the life of the leaf. It soon decays if bent when frozen. Lambs may be fattened on rape for the market, but it is better to feed oats or corn along with it. There is small danger of lambs bloating on rape, as they learn to eat it slowly; however after they know how good it is they must not be allowed to get too hungry for it or they may eat too much of it. It is well to have another pasture of grass of some sort on which they may run, as the rape supplies too much succulence for their appetites and they like a change.

Chickens relish rape and it may be sown in drills in the garden for their use. It is relished by dairy cows, and although it causes the milk to taste as cabbages do, yet it may be fed just after milking with no ill results, the taste disappearing before another milking time.

For feeding to tide over the dry season rape may be sown in April or May. It should have rich ground.

WHEAT.

BY J. L. ROUDEBUSH, Stonelick, O.

Wheat, where the soil and climate are adapted to its growth, and requisite attention paid to its cultivation, is decidedly preferred to all other grain, and next to corn is the most important crop in the United States, not only on account of its general use for bread, but for its safety and convenience for exportation, which has been one hundred million bushels, annually, since 1870, and two hundred and forty-seven million bushels in 1897-8.

To what country it is indigenous, or where first cultivated, we are unable to say, but are of the opinion that it was grown by the Egyptians at least 1600 B. C. It has ever followed in the wake of civilization, thus fitly representing the staff of life.

A slave of Cortez took it with him to Mexico in 1530, and carefully cultivated it. Its introduction into Peru about the same time by a Spanish lady, Maria de Escobar, made her the patron saint of the Inca farmers.

To Gosnold belongs the honor of first sowing it within the present limits of the United States. This was in the year 1602, on Elizabeth Island, now a part of Massachusetts, when he was exploring the New England coast and five years before the settlement of Jamestown. In 1611 it was introduced into Virginia. In 1651 premiums were offered as an encouragement for its cultivation, which at this time amounted to about five thousand acres, with no increase for many years on account of the general cultivation of tobacco, the Virginia farmers not knowing that it did its best in rotation with this crop. Massachusetts Bay ordered wheat from England in 1629. In 1718 it was introduced into the valley of the

Mississippi by the Western Company. In 1750 the French in Illinois exported over two thousand barrels of flour. Aiter the Revolution wheat growing became quite profitable in the Genesee country, in western New York, and the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. It was in the latter that Cyrus McCormick in 1831 made a field trial with his recently invented harvester, the first in the world. At that period the Siberian was the variety mostly cultivated. After it came the old Red Chaff, followed by the Blue Stem and Mediterranean of our boyhood days.

The following tables give the production and exportation of wheat for every tenth year during the past hundred years. In addition is noted the export for 1846, which was largely in excess of that for several years following.

We have now sketched its early history, introduction and successful cultivation, production and exportation of the United States. Until after the Crimean war, the export of wheat was chiefly from the sea-board States, but with the settlement of the vast territory beyond the Mississippi, where large areas have been exclusively devoted to wheat, together with our vast system of railroad transportation, Chicago, not Baltimore, has become the wheat center of the world.

Wheat delights in a rich, but well fined and firmed soil, well drained naturally or artificially. As a site, we prefer: First, tobacco or early potato ground; second, oats stubble plowed early; third, corn stubble. Wheat is a great feeder of nitrogen, hence tobacco or potato ground, that has been shaded and cultivated late, or land broken early and stirred often gives better results than that recently plowed and not firmed, as this shade and frequent cultivation or stirring promotes nitrification and the plant grows from the sowing vigorously, going into the winter in good condition.

Again, tobacco and potatoes do not require so much nitrogen, hence wheat is their complement. We never sow until the soil, to the depth of three inches,

is fined and firmed; if clods there must be, let them be on top. To do this sometimes requires the use of all the various implements for such purposes. On alluvial soils we sometimes top-dress limited areas with well-rotted stable manure; on uplands we invariably use a complete commercial fertilizer at the rate of two hundred pounds to the acre.

If conditions are favorable we begin sowing by September 25, but of late years, on corn stubble and potato ground, have sown as late as November 5 with good results. By sowing about October 1 in this latitude (Cincinnati) we generally escape the ravages of the Hessian fly and chinch bug. We drill at the rate of five pecks to the acre on alluvial, and six pecks on clay soils. We want our seed to be clean; for what you sow, that you will reap. Wheat does not turn to cheat in southern Ohio. As to varieties, we like the Poole, White Fultz, and Egyptian; there is but little difference in yield. We cut as soon as grain is out of the dough with a self binder, making a medium sized bundle, with twelve to a shock. Thresh out of shock as soon as possible, putting wheat on floor over bins until danger of heating has passed. With us wheat is a part of our rotation, invariably following tobacco, potatoes, and sometimes corn. We prefer it as a seed bed for clover and timothy to any of the other small grains

We have never had the great yields of our upland neighbors, though our average for a decade has been twenty-two bushels per acre of grain and eighteen hundred pounds of straw, and to produce has cost us forty-five cents per bushel on tobacco and potato ground and fifty cents on corn ground.

With Argentine no longer a competitor and Russian Siberia only a possibility in the markets of the world, we are of the opinion that the Ohio farmer, with intelligent effort in way of better methods, better seed and seeding, harvesting and selling, will find wheat raising pleasant and profitable whether a part of his rotation or not.

ASPARAGUS.

BY A. SHIRER, Dayton, O.

There is perhaps no vegetable that is as profitable to the general farmer, or even the market gardener as asparagus considering the amount of labor required to produce it.

The asparagus is a perennial. Not a perennial that lasts only five years but one which, under proper treatment, may be profitable for twenty-five or even fifty years.

I am unable to say on what kind of soil asparagus gives the best results. I have seen it thrive on both sandy soil and heavy clay. Good wheat land is certainly an ideal asparagus soil, while some good corn land may be too wet and cold during March and April for its growth. However, no matter what soil we select plenty of stable manure is absolutely necessary to produce a heavy crop. Apply a heavy dressing of good stable manure. Plow as deep as possible. If it is sod this plowing should be done in early fall. Replow in the spring. For the family the ideal patch is planted in a single row. For the market gardener there are two methods, the close and shallow planting and the opposite, wide and deep planting.

One year old plants may do fairly well but generally two year old plants are preferable. Sometimes asparagus seed is very slow in sprouting; soaking the seed in warm water before sowing may hasten germination.

Having the soil in good condition and the plants ready, how shall we proceed to plant? For a permanent bed four feet by three feet is plenty close enough. We must remember that the asparagus plant after it is several years old has an immense root system.

When the soil is deep enough the crowns of the plants should be from four to six inches under the ground. Deep planting has its advantages and its disadvantages. The whole surface of deep planted patches can be thoroughly cultivated in the spring and fall. The first asparagus in the spring will appear a little later on deep planted beds but at the same time it is less liable to be injured by severe freezes during March and April. If we desire very early asparagus and the heaviest yield from a small space we should plant shallow and close. Such patches will soon become unprofitable.

There are two distinct varieties-the green and the white. Which is the better depends considerably upon the fancy of the consumer. They are both good.

There are two methods adopted in gathering asparagus. One is to cut the shoots off under the surface and the other is to allow it to grow taller and cut or break it off above the surface.

Is salt absolutely necessary to grow asparagus? There is less salt used now than formerly. We can kill many weeds by a heavy application of salt but no doubt the better plan is to use more stable manure and give frequent cultivation. Unmolested weeds will thrive wonderfully in an asparagus plantation

What a blessing it would be if we could get plants that would ripen no seed. If it is true that asparagus is dioecious that some plants are pistillate and others staminate then by careful selection in the plant bed we may perhaps procure plants that ripen no seed. I am making an experiment in this direction in a new bed for the coming spring. Until we arrive at that happy condition, however, all the seedlings should be removed. If they are allowed to grow we soon have a mass of plants and very little asparagus to gather.

In the fall the tops should be mowed off and burned. Then, as stated before, give the whole surface a complete cultivation and mulch with good stable

manure,

Asparagus in Ohio is comparatively free from both insects and disease. The leopard-spot fungus is however making some headway, causing the plants to die prematurely. In Maryland and adjacent districts the asparagus rust is playing havoc. No sure remedy has yet been discovered for leopard-spot or

rust.

If the patch is going to be for permanent use do not begin to cut from it until the third year from planting. Cease cutting about the time raspber-ies begin to ripen.

To recapitulate: Select a well drained soil. Use stable manure freely. Plant deep and early in the spring. Give the plants plenty of room. Keep the weeds down by thorough cultivation. In the fall cut off the tops and burn them. In the fall and early spring give the whole surface shallow cultivation. Mulch the whole surface in the fall with rich stable manure. Treat the seedlings as weeds.

THE SELECTION, FEEDING AND CARE OF THE FARM HORSE.

BY W. W. FARNSWORTH, Waterville, O.

The depreciation in value of the horse as a commercial product, has been so great during the past decade that farmers have largely lost interest in this faithful servant of man. And yet the horse is just as important a factor in the economy of the farm now as ever. In fact the continually increasing use of horsepower machinery on the farm makes it absolutely essential that the farmer possess a good efficient team to properly operate said machinery.

No matter how thoroughly his land is drained and fertilized, nor how carefully his stock, seed and tools are selected, unless he has a capable team to

operate those tools, to properly fit the soil and sow the seed and harvest and. market the crop, he can not attain the highest degree of success.

In the selection of the horse let us look first at his head. A good head on a horse is just as important as on a human being, and a "fool horse" is just as worthless as a "fool human."

The head indicates disposition. Select a horse of at least moderate width. between the eyes as such a one is less liable to be timid and shy at every strange object. The eye should be full and bright and indicate neither a sleepy nor a vicious disposition. So much of the farmer's work is in connection with his team that it behooves him to secure a team that has the proper disposition to be pleasant, as his own work will not only be much pleasanter and easier but also. more effective.

Avoid the nervous, fretful horse that is continually chafing and fretting and wearing out himself and driver, and also the slow, sluggish horse whose driver is obliged to "work his passage" with the whip. Select the horse whose head is carried well up naturally and then you will not need to rein him up in an un-natural position.

The neck should taper gradually from shoulder to head. The breasts not. excessively broad, unless you are selecting for draft regardless of action.

The farm horse surely requires plenty of lung room but let him secure part of it by greater depth from withers to lower front point of shoulders (which gives action also) rather than by excessive width.

The back should be short and not sunken and the loins full and high, and. by all means see that he is "well ribbed up", that is, that there is but little space between the point of hip and the ribs. This adds much to the appearance of the horse (especially when thin in flesh) and is an indication of an easy keeper. The legs and feet are very important points to consider, especially if the horse is to be used much on the road. The leg should taper gradually from shoulder or hip to foot, and be broad, flat, clean and bony. The strain upon the leg is in a forward direction when the horse is working or traveling and we secure the greatest strength in that direction from a given amount of material by using that material in a wide, thin form, just as a piece of timber two inches thick and twelve inches wide set on edge will sustain a greater weight than onefour by six which contains the same amount of material.

The foot should be of medium size and neither so flat as to cause lameness when driven much on hard roads, nor so narrow as to be likely to contract and pinch the inner and sensitive part of the foot and cause lameness also. Having secured a horse with sound feet, keep them sound by proper care and shoeing. Shoeing may be said to be a necessary evil in most cases, but many farm. horses can by careful management be used with very little shoeing.

The shoe is placed under the outer rim or supporting shell of the foot and if allowed to remain too long the hoof grows out beyond it and the shoe presses. upon the softer, inner portion causing corns and lameness. Do not allow your blacksmith to cut, carve, burn and rasp too much, the less the better.

FEEDING.

Undoubtedly the greatest mistake made by the farmers of this country in feeding the horse, is in using too much hay. We are proverbially generous and we feel that our faithful co-laborer in our daily toil, ought to have all he can eat, so we stuff the manger with hay and if perchance we happen to visit the barn in the forenoon or afternoon when "Jim" is in the barn and he whinnies a grateful greeting to us we imagine that he is hungry and throw in some more. "Jim" is somewhat surprised but he does not want to hurt your feelings by refus-ing your mistaken kindness, so he eats it.