NEWS FROM LONG AGO
November 28, 1919
FROM THE COUNTY AGENT: There is no satisfactory market for sweet potatoes at this season and every effort should be made to keep our splendid crop until later on in the winter when there is usually good market. The best plan is a potato storage house, plans for which I will be glad to furnish. I have known some people to have pretty good success keeping them right in the house with them where they have a pretty tight house and plenty of spare room – generally upstairs. They generally cover them with old quilts, sacks, etc., during extreme cold weather, take them off as soon as it is warmer and during warm days they open up the windows so as to give free ventilation.
If anybody in the country is so fortunate as to have a good crop of turnips they ought to lose no time in pulling them up, cutting off the tops and putting them up in bunks of about 5 bushels each and cover with dirt deep enough to prevent freezing, so that you will have turnips all the winter. This is for such turnips as Purple top, strap leaf or white globe, that would otherwise freeze.
In this locality fall or early winter is the best time to set out fruit trees. The reason that this is the best time is because we do not have hot sun to draw all of the moisture and life out of the stem before the root is established and able to supply it with sap.
The proper way to set out a tree is to dig a broad hole with something like a spade, deep enough to set the tree about one inch deeper than it was in the nursery row, and wide enough so that you can spread the roots out in about the manner they grew. All broken and bruised roots should be cut off before setting. While an assistant holds the top of the tree at the right depth in the hole, spread out the roots in their natural order and pack dirt around them with the hands. Then fill the hole, keeping the dirt packed with the feet. Leave the top dirt for an inch or two loose. Never use manure around the roots in setting a tree. The tops of peach trees should be cut back to about 18 inches and apples to about 24 inches at setting.
I am giving below a dry cure for meat, taken from Farmer’s Bulletin No. 913. I think you will find it superior to the old method! For each 100 pounds of meat use – 8 pounds of salt, 3 pounds of warm syrup, 2 ounces saltpeter, 3 ounces black pepper, 2 ounces red pepper. All ingredients should be mixed thoroughly. Rub each piece of meat thoroughly with the mixture and pack the meat in bulk on a clean floor or table or in a container. In ten days break bulk and repack meat. This is done to make the cure more uniform and to prevent souring. Allow the meat to cure 5 or 6 weeks.
