Jasper County Democrat, Volume 2, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 November 1899 — AGRICULTURAL NEWS [ARTICLE]

AGRICULTURAL NEWS

THINGS PERTAINING TO THE FARM AND HOME. Pumpkins, as a Food for Fattening Hogs - Hints on Raspberry CultureCotton no Kins to Tkla Country Has Given W«y to Corn.

We did not think pumpkins as valuable for feding to hogs as we did to cattle, but when they were plenty the hogr had some every day, for could not keep them late in the winter. We never cooked them unless to throw in a few when boiling smaU potatoes or other roots Tor the hogs, as we thought them too watery when boiled, and they seemed to be relished better when given raw. We notice in a bulletin sent out by the Oregon Experiment Station that they tested pumpkins for hogs weighing 140 to 200 pounds each,* for four periods of fourteen days .each. The pumpkins were cooked with shorts. For the first two weeks it took 15.45 pounds of pumpkins and 2.12 pounds of shorts to make a pound of gain. The next two weeks it took 14.95 pounds of pumpkins and 1.3 pounds of shorts. In the third period 14.39 pounds of the pumpkin and 1.79 popnds shorts, and for the last two weeks 14.48 pounds of pumpkin* and 2.54 pounds of shorts. The average gain for each hog daring the whole time was about 1% pounds per day, and counting pumpkins at |2.50 a ton, and shorts at sl2, the cost per pound of gain was 2.9 cents. This may have been cheap enough, but we think It could have been made cheaper upon raw pumpkins, and by using a little more shorts, or perhaps a mixture of equal parts of commeal and shorts. After a hog weighs 200 pounds alfcre we are not afraid to give him as much eornmeal as he will eat ufitll we get him fat enough to kill. They tried to Increase the amount of pumpkin and reduce the amount of shorts, but the pigs objected, and, as will be seen above, they had to increase the proportion of shorts. We never tested pumpkins for sheep feeding, but have no donbt they would work excellently welL We never removed the seeds when feeding them, and never saw that they were doing any injury to either cattle or bogs.—American Cultivator.

riaotinar Raspberries. In the spring of 1898 I set 1,000 Kansas raspberry plants. A heavy crop of corn had been grown on the land the previous year; this was cut and shocked early in the fall and later removed, after which the ground was deeply fallplowed. In the spring the land was thoroughly cultivated, harrowed and dragged. The corn roots which otherwise would have Interfered with careful cultivation, were removed. Furrows about 6 inches deep and 7 feet apart were than thrown out, and the plants set about 18 inches apart In the furrows. The plants were carried In a bucket of water, ,the roots carefully spread over a little mound of earth, and covered with about 2 inches of fine soil, which was pressed down very firmly and then covered with an Inch of loose soil to prevent evaporation of moisture. They were given frequent cultivation with a Planet Junior horse hoe and a smafl harrow. About Sept. 1 the ends of the vine were put down with a dibble, and In November the surplus vines were removed. A length of about 8 Inches was left on the tips and from 8 to 16 Inches on the bushes. I got so many tips and they were so fine that a local nurseryman offered me 400 firstclass apple trees for them. The patch covereg less than half an acre. All the plants lived and made a splendid growth.—O. H. Barnhill, In Fanners’ Advocate.

For Autumn Keki. To get eggs in the autumn of the year we bring wheat bran into play. Not wheat bran of the dry, red and flaky kind, that is almost, or entirely, devoid of the white substance known as “shorts,” but good country ground wheat bran that Is rich In its make-up, finely ground, and that covers the hands with whiteness In handling It. Take bran of the latter sort, mix two quarts of it to one of oats, in a large tin bucket. Then get a beef joint bone that has some meat on It, boll It In a gallon of water, and when still hot pour the beefy flavored hot water Into the bucket of bran and oats, cover over and let It soak and steam for fifteen or twenty minutes. Then feed it to the hens while still warm. Do this once a day during the autumn months, and a large per cent, of the hens will lay during the moulting period, because they will not moult at the same time. Or be In the same condition of moulting; hence, some of them will lay when fed on such nourishing food. Com should also be given to the hens once a day during the autumn season. In boiling the beef joint as above suggested add a few potatoes, or an onion or two, to give a vegetable flavor to the mixture. The return in eggs will wore than'repay the outlay.—H. B, Geer, in American Poutlry Journal; Corn I* Kins’. Cotton was once considered king in this country, but the chances are it will have to give way. to corn. This cereal waa formerly considered Important only in so far as ft helped to put flesh on stock, and provided a rather Indifferent breadstuff to one section of the Union. To-day Its uses-are many, and it so,.widespread that, eytn wfcee* might spared tg£ human tty.No imp tfcanjisdore of artP crystal glucose, grape sugar, anhydrous dextrine. British gum, granulated gum, gum paste, com oil, corn-oil cake; rnb-

her substitute, gluten feed, chop feed, gluten meat umi emu germ, isven tn© stalks are no longer thrown away. Pew people realise how important are tbs experiments now being made, with ev J ery prospect of success, looking to the manufacture of robber goods, or rather substitutes for robber goods, from corn. The demand for rubber Is something enormous, and unless invention comes to the rescue It wMI soon exceed the supply.—New York Commercial. Protection from iAahtninst. Barns are frequently struck by lightning soon after the new crop has been put In, and large barns, in which a large quantity of new hay has been stored within a short time, are most liable to be struck, especially when there is a ventilator upon the top of the barn. It Is said that the heating of the hay causes a column of warm air to arise, which acts as a conductor for the electric current as naturally as would a column of water, If one could be forced dp to the same height. It is, then, a good idea to ventilate such barns by windows in the gables, so that the heated air will be spread abroad hy the wind instead of going directly upward. The ventilators on the top of the barn should be so arranged that they can be closed, and they should be kept closed during the time when the new hay is throwing off this heat It throws off much more since farmers have begun to ent their grass early, and to put it in a little green In the heat of the day, than It did when It was usual for mnch of It to get overripe, over-cured, and It was notbauled In until after dark. The machinery of the present day allows much more to go in In a day than did in the days of the hand scythe and hand rakes. Thoroughbred* and Grade*. It Is often a mistake of young breeders to suppose that the fine-appearing grade stock which they have secured by crossing pure-bred animals with native stock will prove as good as it looks when put to the test of breeding. This in the nature of things cannot he the case. All the excellences of the pure-bred stock have been fixed in It by more or less close breeding, or in other words, breeding to nearly related stock. The produce of Ibis In and In breeding Is quite likely to be somewhat delicate In constitutional vigor, and It requires that there I>e bred several strains of the same breed so as to perpetuate its excellences in lines uot too finely related. By breedhig two animals of these different strains together, enough new blood is introduced to maintain the stamina of the breed, and yet without lessening its special value for the purposes for which it has been bred. Crossing to wholly unrelated stock produces a mongrel that is more than likely to perpetuate the worst qualities of both dam and sire if carried beyond the first cross, which as an individual may be better than either—Exchange.

Dairy Baler. At the Indiana State Fair this year the best tub of creamery butter scored 96% points, while th 6 best fifteen pounds of dairy butter scored 97% points and the best five ponnds of dairy prints scored 98 points. This may be taken as evidence that those who will take the necessary care to have their milk clean, from healthy cows fed on whqlesome food, can handle it so as to make a better product than the average creamery that receives milk from so many patrons, some of whom seem to think a good butter maker should be able to make good butter from almost any material they may furnish him. While we are willing to admit that there Is much dairy butter which is very Inferior to the average product of the creamery, there is some that is much better. The„trouble with dairy butter for the dealer and consumer Is that such as scores 97 or 98 points does not often reach them. There is usually a home market for It, which keeps it there.. Probably the dairyman who has such a market finds it more profitable than to supply city dealers.—American Cultivator.

Hatching of Bgga. When fowls are In full vigor in spring, their eggs hatch earlier than the 21 days that are commonly reck-' oned for hefts’ eggs. The eggs may hatch a day earlier than the three weeks usually allowed. Later in the season, though, when the weather is warmer, It takes longer to batch the eggs, some oven requiring 23 or 24 days, and some chicks dying in the shell. Late in the season the hens lay fewer eggs, and with thicker shells than when the egg production is most abundant. It is easy to find If a living chick is In the shell, and the best way to get It out without destroying the chick is to moisten the shell with water, which has been gradually warmed, taking care not to use water that has been boiled.-as that has divested the water of air, and potting such water on the egg may cause the death of the chick within. On no account should an egg be broken to get the chick out If It cannot make its way ont by picking after the sheH has been softened, it ha| too little vitality to be worth raising. . i Lot* the Fivm and Farm Home. “The only drawback tonany intelligent country community enjoying educational and refining privileges is lick of co-operation between the farmers themselves,” writes Mrs. John B. Sims, “Entertaining in the Country,” in the Ladles’ Home Journal. “Whenever a ■faplng,. rsmni unity realize that In th#irsires fi the means of educating V 1 V daughters to love the mm aiftfami homeland that because oneaoesutfAave the privileges ofthe town or large city there is no reason why he should stagnate either menAiliMw socially, they will have solved the problem of how to Uve happHy fend contentedly on a farm.” ■