Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 38, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 October 1891 — REAL RURAL READING [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

REAL RURAL READING

WILL BE FOUND IN THIS DEPARTMENT. The Barnyard, an Indispensable Division of the Average Farm—The Post Puller— General Farm Notes—The Dairy, Poul-try-Yard and Household. Tile Barnyard.

There is not a more indispensable division of the average farm than the barnv yard, and yet all \ will agree that \ there is hardly a 1 spot on those jjtl farms which sufI fers more from . L neglect than it Lw does. Fully oneWk third of the year the stock seldom '*'> go beyond this engg closure, and very ■K often find n o 2r shelter exc op t A what is afforded J by the straw

stack and tho sides of bufldings. It may bo impracticable to make a barnyard what It should bo without roofing it, nevertheless It can bo greatly improved. The barnyard should not be a basin to collect the water which falls upon tho outbuildings. Unless tho water from those buildings is needed for filling cisterns, it should bo carried away in drains. Such drains are very Important iu a level location for drying tho ground about tho premises, and Into theso tho water from the roofs should bo conducted. These are much better than open drains because they do not become obstructed. In this way the barnyard will be kept frem drawing water into It which falls beyond Its boundary. Tho watering trough is usuaMy located in one corner of the barnyard, and during tho winter the mud will bccomo so deep arouud it that stock cannot have access to it without difficulty, unless this is prevented by tho use of stone and gravel. The best way Is to pave the ground with small boulders. Those should be fr.om four to six Inches in length, and should bo placed on their ends and very closely together. After this a layer of smaller stones should be spread over it, and above this a coat of gravel. If irravei Is not available a few loads of surface clay will make a substitute. Perhaps It would bo advisable to construct a passage of the same material from the stable door to tho trough, hut make it higher than tho surrounding level It is % luxury to be able to lead a horse from his stall to water In all kinds of weather without getting one’s toots muddy. Tho barnyard should be surrounded by a wina-break of evergreens on the side toward the prevailing winds. Such a protection Is more necessary for open regions, but there Is scarcely a yard where stock must stand during tho day that will not be much more comfortable If such a break is provided. Less than a dozen Norway spruces will effect this purpose, if planted in tho njht place, and they will be ornamental as well as useful. The fencos around the barnyard should be built of postsand planks, and should not be loss than four and one half feet In height, and a greater height would be still better. This requires largo posts, which should be deeply set. If tho fence Is made high in this way a barb wire can be stretched abovo tho top plank with safety, and this will prcvpnt the animals from gnawing It and also check their propensity to push over it This will prevent rubbing against tho'fence, which in time is sure to push it from a perpendicular lino. A lump of rock salt should be kept In a trough in the barnyard, unless tho animals are freely salted in their stables. Pulling Old I’OMi Made Easy. Hook a log chain around tho post, near the ground; draw It over the top of an oak plank with a notch sawed in It, and a stout cleat spiked on each side to

prevent it from splitting. The Illustration explains it all. Hitch your team on ana you will never forget the “Short Cuts” post puller. This can also be used to pull underbrush, etc.—[Practical Farmer. General Farm Topic*. Keep the chickens dry. Keep your farm tools clean. Hf. who lies in a small way will cheat in a large one. Tue best cultivator gets the most out of a poor soil. The largest profit usually comes from what you do yourself. Cultivate no more land than you can attend to thoroughly. Have a tool house and keep your tools In it when they are not in use. Neveb worry over trouble. The trouble Itself is misery enough, when it comes. It is cheaper to educate the child than to maintain the future man as a clrminal or a pauper. The butter and milk product, from all breeds of cows may be increased by judicious feeding. Every farmer should take good care of the young swine now ( on hand and provide for a liberal increase the coming year. A practical cattleman is aB necessary to succeed in breeding as a practical grocer is to conducting his line of business. It is estimated that it requires fifteen million cows to supply the demand for milk and its products in the United States. To obtain the best results from work you must have wisdom, system, and method. The wise man systematically plans his work and methodically executes it. “Providence makes nothing to go to waste.” Whenever there is a temporary excess or lack of needed products, things were soon evened up by short crops er increased yields. The American Analyst says that there are #3,000,t00,000 invested in the dairy business in this country. The amount is

almost double the money Invested in banking and commercial Industries. It is a commendable idea to give to tho boys an interest in the colts, and in this way get them to spend their spare time in looking after the welfare of all the horses on the farm instead of trying to loaf at tho corner grocery. The dairy farmer should always reckon the value of the manure produced upon the profit side of his account Well fed dairy cows will yield a manure rich in fertilizing elements, and this should be employed in the production of such crop as will, with liberal fertilizing, give large money returns. It is not to bo expected that the milk of the natlvo cow will bo as rich as that of tho Jersey, but her yiold can be made greater, and with more protit by allowing her generous rations. The breod is important, and should perhaps, in most cases, rank first, but the food is a good second. In tho exchange of commodities a man must have something in hand to got something ho needs with. Money is generally acceptable to all classes in this exchange. To get tho money the man must produce something or have something. Whon he has that he can usually find.soipe one ready to gve him money for it. Strawberries, a comparatively easy product of tho soil, are, in their season, considered a luxury, and yet how few farmers’ families are in tho full enjoyment of them. If thero is ono blessing which tho farmer’s family should enjoy abovo all others it is the full and perfect enjoyment of all possible products of tho soil. Give horses water before feeding. In France some worthless horses were killed for dissection on purposo to determlno tho effect of giving water immediately after eating, and some of the grain was found undigested in tho intestines, twonty feet beyond tho stomach, and it had caused inflammation of tho mucous membrane. There is much in inhoritanco. Generations of improvod blood lines, in which the milk or fattening trait has been the point in view, can but count to the credit of pedigree cattle, as a rule. On tho other hand, neglocted common cattle whoso breeding has been at random cannot bo depended upon for propotoncy. Consequently a sire of tho future cattle should be a thoroughbred, eligible to registry. The welfare, tho health, the temperament, to say nothing of the happiness of the horse, are largely dependent on surroundings. Ho needs no bric-a-brac to amuso or entertain him, ho cares nothing for ornamentation. Hut ho does appreciate comfort and comfort does him good. And what does him good will in the end bo for tho good of his master.

Inferior products, injudicious marketing, the tendency to rush from ono line of production to another, are all important factors in fixing the price of farm products. The man who goes into hogs or another lino whon prices are up and drops out whon they aro low, is to be pitied, for ho is always overweighted, running a race in which ho Is bound to bo tho losor. No one should accept the absurd idea that a farmer needs no education to make a good farmer. I know that some people look dowu on farmers as being an over-workod, Illiterate and dishonorable class of men. This is largely duo to misrepresentation and misunderstanding. A well-to-do farmer says the way to avoid this is to oducato ourselves so universally and sciontlilcally that public opinion will be compelled to acknowledge our worth. The colt will learn more easily when 6 months old than when a year old. It can also be controlled moro easily. Hence it is wise to handle the colt early. Its early training should not stop with breaking the halter. It should bo handled until any part of its limbs can be rubbed; until it is accustomed to the bridle, and until it will drive as well as lead. To teach it all this and to kfeep it from forgetting.what it has learned is a little trouble, but if the colt is of good stock the trouble is well paid for.