Jasper County Democrat, Volume 9, Number 28, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 October 1906 — HINTS FOR FARMERS [ARTICLE]

HINTS FOR FARMERS

The General Purpose Farm Horse. Very many of our farmers get the idea that all they have to do is to breed their nondescript mares to the leggy, coarse type of so called coach horses being peddled through the country to get the general purpose farm horse. I have seen hundreds of colts from this kind of breeding and must say that not 5 per cent of them are even fair specimens of the general purpose horse, while 50 per cent or more are failures from every point of view. I have seen much better results where the coach stallion has been a finer and more compactly built one or where a hackney or American trotter of a compact, smooth, muscular type has been the sire. These observations have led me to the conclusion that this latter plan Is the surest one to bring some measure of success in producing the general purpose farm horse.— George McKerrow, Wisconsin. The Mortgage Lifter. , The hqg has been very properly called “the mortgage lifter.” I have beep raising and feeding hogs for market from my boyhood with some degree of success. To begin with, it is important to have large, hardy, prolific sows. I find the Duroc Jersey to fill the bill exactly, but let every one have the breed that will raise the most pigs of the heaviest weight In the shortest time. Breed for early spring pigs and all within ten days or two weeks if possible to a thrifty, well developed boar (but never more than two a day to one boar), so as to have the pigs strong, hearty and near the same age.—S. V. Thornton Before Missouri Swine Breeders’ Association. Jew York Leads In Dairy Products. According to figures compiled up to the Ist of July of this year by the dry division of the agricultural department at Washington,' there are 207 cows to every thousand of population in the state of New Y’ork, and the annual output of milk reaches 772,799,000 gallons, which is greater than that of any other state in the Union. Wisconsin has 483 cows to every thousand inhabitants, yet its production of milk reaches only 472,275,000 gallons. In the District of Columbia the production of milk is 850.000 gallons yearly, and the District has but four cows to each thousand of population. Corn For Molting Hena. Corn is generally assumed to be a very poor grain for use in molting season, but I have never been able to see that its use had any real effect on the time of molt. It is true that I have never had my hens molting as early as some say they do and that my hens get a great deal of corn, but as compared with experimental flocks on mixed grains no difference is noticeable in general. It is doubtful whether the kind of grain has much to do with the time of molting provided the ration is properly balanced with bran, oilmeal and meat.—Homer W. Jackson in National Stockman. Whltewa»h on the Farm. Lime whitewash is quite generally used on tree trunks and in poultry houses, says American Agriculturist. No insects like to rest on a whitewashed surface. Scale and other sucking Insects either cannot or will not puncture a lime coating, while if the wash is well put on those that hide in crevices find these filled with disagreeable material and seek other quarters. Whitewash alone will not kill scale insects, but if it is applied just before they hatch the young may be sealed up and their setting prevented. The Weaving Hone. "Weaving” consists in a motion of the head, neck and body from side to side, like the shuttle of a weaver passing through the web. and hence the name given to this peculiar and incessant motion. It indicates an impatient, irritable temper and a dislike to confinement in the stable. A horse thus affected will seldom be in good flesh er be safe to ride or drive. It is not considered to be a disease, but merely an individual vice, and there is no cure for it that I am aware of.—Veterinary in Atlanta Constitution. Caring For Turkeys. The young turkeys suffer more than do other fowls at this season of the year if they are not looked after and carefully fed. The supply of nature’s food which so largely sustains them during the summer and early fall begins to dwindle and lessen with each coming day. The young turkeys and the old turkeys as w’ell should be plentifully provided with a grain supply to guarantee their continued growth without being stunted or retarded when they should be growing every day.— Country Gentleman. Salting the Butter. For those who prefer to salt out of the churn the following is the best method: Remove the butter when in the granular state, weigh it and place It upon the worker, spread evenly and salt to suit the taste. Sift the salt evenly over the butter, pass the worker over it, then run the butter and work again or until the salt Is thoroughly worked in. It may then be set away for a few hours, after which It should be given a working.— American Cultivator. Oata For Hoga. Oats may be a portion of a ration for hogs, but they are much more satisfactory if they are ground. Mixed with torn, oats and shorts, they add materially to the value of any hog feed. They should not constitute more than onefourth of the grain ration. A mixture of oats and peas ground and fed as a swill is exceedingly valuable.—American Agriculturist.