Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 April 1895 — BARN FOR THE STOCK [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

BARN FOR THE STOCK

BUILDING IN WHICH ALL MAY BE HOUSED. Advantages of Haring All Kinds of Stock tinder One Hoof— How to Have a Constant Water Supply—Weather Heporta on the Farm. A Convenient Barn. Some fanners would be glad to build contemplated barns so that all kinds of stock kept on a place devoted to general farming may be gathered under one roof. This plan has its advantages and its disadvantages—more of the former than of the latter, perhaps, if one places

its proper value upon ease in doing one’s work. The illustrations given herewith may afford suggestions for those desiring to build general purpose barns. The barn is of the ordinary shape, with a wing on either end, as seen in Fig. 1, the main or feeding floor being across the middle of the barn proper. The floor plan (Fig. 2) leavefi little to add by way of explanation, except that provision may be made for feeding the young stock from the second floor through chutes at the end of the barn proper. It is intended for the young stock to run loose in the pen provided—which should have a cement floor—and that the manure from the cattle and horse stalls should be wheeled daily into this pen, spread

and covered with litter. It will thus be firmly packed and kept in the best of condition. If such a barn could be built where it could have a dry cellar, the manure could be dropped into the cellar > where also could be stored roots, while" the silo could extend down through the cellar, the root room being, of course, partitioned off from the space- devoted to the manure.—American Agriculturist. Improving Meadows and Pastures. In most meadows and pasture fields are patches of greater or less extent that are not nearly as productive as the remainder of the field, though the entire surface is uniformly seeded. These unproductive places are usually knolls or hillsides, from which the fertility of the soil has been exhausted by washing or cropping. During, autumn they can easily be located and brought back to a state of fertility. First apply a good seeding of timothy, or other grass seed, and then cover the entire surface half an inch or more deep with well-rotted barn yard manure, or a heavy sowing of commercial fertilizer, passing over the spots several times with a spring tooth or other harrow. The early fall rains will cause the seed to germinate, and the whole surface should present a healthy,, green appearence before winter sets in. Frequently a field that has been into grass for many years is well set with moss, in which case? scatter seed over the surface, apply some rich manure, and harrow until the surface looks ragged, thus laying the foundation fbr an increased growth of herbage, and all at small expense, without replowing the field. These bare spots are not at all pleasant to look at, and do not speak well for the farmer.—Orange Judd Farmer. & A Wagon Jack. It should be made of seasoned hickory. The lever is Ix 2 in., 44 in. long, the legs Ix 2 in. long, cross bar 30 in. long; bolt legs to lever 7 in. from end, bolt crossbar 22 in. from same end, bolting loosely and using %-ln. bolts. For the pin in the end of the crossbar use %-in. rod bent as at B,

and Insert the bar as at C; it should project 3 in. Give it a coat of paint It is light but powerful, holds a wagon securely, is quickly adjusted, and when not in use will fold up compactly or can be hung up by the pin in the bar C. _ Tree Planting in Autumn. A correspondeut of the Country Gentleman objects to the practice of removing young trees from the nursery rows in autumn before they have completed growth. It is a common practice to strip the leaves off from these trees, which does not hurt if the wood is matured. They will then come off easily, but if this is done while the tree is still growing, it often shrivels, and suffers in consequence. For orchard planting the writer prefers small wellrooted trees. These are cut back low to the ground the next spring, and they will then grow rapidly, need no stalking, and the ample root-system will insure a good crop. Weather Reports on the Farm. To show the need there is for the farmer to be in close communication with the sources of Information, I will give an instance. In my business of farming I early realized how much success depended upon the weather, and made a daily study of the reports sent out by the Weather Bureau. These I arranged to have reach me each morning. One morning that gave promise of being the best day of the year, I sent two teams to cut a clover patch of sixteen acres. As soon as the day’s weather report came I saw by it that a storm was coming from the west, and I hurried to my clover field and stopped the ■ work there, sending the teams to cultivating in the corn field. The men were disgusted, and looked at nie as if they thought I had lost my mind, as there was not an indication of a storm to be seen. I went to a neighbor, who had

begun bis cutting that morning, but be looked at the sky and declined to be advised. He “took no stock in weather reports,” and his field would be cut that day. The next morning it was raining, and for five days thereafter it rained. My clover was uncut and saved; my neighbor’s crop was ruined. How many others were misled by the fatal brightness of that morning, or what the loss was I don’t know. A careful study of the weather reports has shown me that over 80 per cent of the prognostications given by the Weather Bureau are correct We farmers have as much right to have this information delivered to us in the day of it as has the merchant in the city.—Correspondence of the Philadelphia Ledger. Farming at the Stations. The work of a station is sometimes best performed in making examinations of the methods and results of practical farmers who have nothing to do with the experimental part of agriculture, and then in publishing these reports. Often the experiments are conducted under such peculiar conditions at the stations that it would hardly be a fair thing to conclude that the same results would happen on the average farm. The Illinois station seems to realize this, and the opinions and methods of feeding sheep, hogs, and cattle of over one hundred practical farmers and breeders are published in Bulletin thir-ty-six, making a most interesting summary of the state of feeding and breeding In Illinois. From this we learn that the majority of farmers or breeders whose opinions are given make corn and pasture the chief reliance for feeding, generally fed unground, and even unshelled by the majority, and stall feeding is only occasionally practiced. Very few foods outside of corn and pasture are given, and ensilage, strange to say, is mentioned by only a few of these breeders of beef. On a few other points there is considerable disagreement, and the question of breed preferred varies, although among sheep Shropshires lead by a small majority, and among pigs the Poland-Chinas are the favorites, and among cattle the short-horns.—Ger-mantown Telegraph. Yield Per Acre. The farmers of the United States produce less per acre than farmers in Europe, and this means at a greater proportionate expense, as double crops can sometimes be grown for the same outlay of labor. It costs no more to plow an acre of land that produces twentyfive bushels of wheat than for twelve, and nearly the same proportion of labor must be bestowed upon harvesting the smaller field as the larger. It is by compelling the land to produce more per acre that the farmer must in the future increase his profits. A Constant Water Supply. A system for furnishing a house and barn with a constant supply of water from a spring at some distance is shown in the accompanying illustration from Farm and Home. The reservoir on the hill is 50 feet above the the buildings and connected with the spring Bby the one-inch pipe E. The distance between spring and reservoir is 1,400 feet. Midway along this line of pipe is the windmill D which pumps the water into the reservoir. In the same drain with pipe E is laid

another returning from the reservoir to the buildings. Ui the upper part of each building is a smaller reservoir. These are supplied from the larger one on the hill. Where it is impossible to place the larger reservoir high enough to make use of gravity’ as a means of returning the water to the smaller ones the water can be pumped direct from the spring to the reservoirs in the buildings. In this case it is best that the reservoirs be larger than where they are supplied from one of mammoth size. The Man Who Kicks. A man who has a high temper, says a writer, if it is uncontrollable, has no business with a cow. The man who mercilessly kicks a cow can not possibly succeed, for his rough treatment will more than offset all he builds up by extra feeding. If he would be content to kick the side of the barn, or even himself, it would be more sensible, and his end would be gained just as well. Water Vegetables. In China many of the shallow pools have their bottoms planted with edible lilies, lotus, water chestnuts, water spinach and other vegetables which thrive in marshy lands. These grow rapidly, and in the warmer sections produce more than one crop each year. It might be wise to try some of these water vegetables in this country, as they will furnish a greater variety of food than already exists here. Fai-in Notes. The consumption of mutton has largely increased within the past six years, and it will continue to do so. Here is an excellent field for the farmer to handle the mutton breeds. The Germantown Telegraph says that if a cheese factory is located in a good dairy district and farmers persist in sending only inferior milk to it the closing of that factory is only a question of time. If the cider does not turn to vinegar it is due to the lack of air (oxygen) and it should be poured out into tubs and a few days again poured into the barrel. Any method of admitting oxygen to the cider will answer. A damp roosting place is an abomination, and yet fowls prefer a wet roost free from lice to a dry one covered with vermin which sap their blood and strength. This will explain why some l>eople’s chickens prefer to roost on trees. Some sort of pears, notably the Bartlett, Chapp’s Favorite and Lucrative, never fail of a crop', and by using care varieties may be planted so as to come in one after another. The pear is a sure crop all the time, and the wonder is that more of them are not to be seen about our farrh houses.

FIG. 1. PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF BARN.

FIG. 2. GROUND PLAN.

WAGON JACK.

CONSTANT WATER SUPPLY.