Jasper County Democrat, Volume 9, Number 43, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 January 1907 — HINTS FOR FARMERS [ARTICLE]

HINTS FOR FARMERS

The Cotswold Sheep. The Cotswolds are large, hardy and prolific sheep, and the ewes are good mothers. They furnish a valuable combing wool, and the average of fleeces Is from seven to eight pounds. Selected flocks produce considerably more wool. x The wethers, fattened at fourteen months old, In England weigh from fifteen to twenty-four pounds per quarter and at two years old from twenty to thirty pounds per quarter. They very frequently are made to weigh considerably more in this country. Their mutton is superior to that of the Leicesters, the fat being less abundant and better mixed with lean meat. They are much used in crossing other breeds and varieties. They Impart more hardiness with stronger constitutions and better qualities as breeders to the Leicesters and thicken them in the hind quarters. They give size, longer wool and more wool to some of the short wool families. They arb decidedly favored sheep with th.e breeders of the United States.

General Purpose Hone. The general purpose farm horse Is one that can be well utilized in ordinary farm work of all kinds and can also do the limited amount of road work needed in connection with the working of the medium sized or small farm, says a correspondent of Farm Progress. A horse called a “chunk” in market, standing fifteen to sixteen hands high, weighing from 1,100 to 1,400 pounds, compactly built, with good feet and legs, a tractable, lively disposition, a good, clean, rapid way of going at walk or trot. is. In brief, the kind of horse that I would call a general purpose horse. This kind of horse has a place on farms and, we may say, is the most valuable class so far as farm work is concerned. You will note that be partakes of the qualities of both the draft and coach or heavy roadster types in both his conformation and disposition. Build a Tool House. Every farmer needs a good tool house. It should be so convenient of access that there need be no excuse for leaving farm Implements exposed to the weather when not in use. Properly eared for, many implements that now last only a few years ought to be serviceable as long as the farmer lives to need them. Besides, a tool that has not been rusted, wanted and cracked by exposure will work as well the second and third year of use as the first On many farms the tools are so much Injured by beiug left out of doors that after the first season they cost more for repairs than they save in labor. Needs of Sheep. Salt Is cheap. Give them an abundant supply by keeping it in boxes in some convenient place where they can have free access to It By adding a small portion of finely powdered sulphate of iron with the salt the flock will be benefited as regards health and warding off disease. Let the sheep have an abundant supply of pure water at all times, for nothing la more beneficial when they are housed and being fed ou dry feed. By a lack of it the whole flock Is often Infected by disease and a heavy loss the result Swine Nofee. Feed Influences the size of the litter. Variety in feed, and especially plenty of forage, or green stuff, will increase Its size. An overration of dry food will make it smaller and weak. A pile of cobs burned and then sprinkled with salt makes a nice appetizer for hogs. Pigs may try to become a little too familiar, but that is a good failing. It is better to have them too tame than so wild they cannot be handled. Care of Sheep In Winter. No feed is better for sheep than sheaf oats and turnips, says a Missouri farmer in the St. Louis Republic. They seem to fill all the requirements of the animal, so far as roughness, grain and vegetables are concerned. But whether fed on grain or vegetables the floors and troughs should be kept clean, and all hay, straw or fodder should be fed in mangers or racks, as feeding it on the ground Is extravagant, wasteful and filthy. Pumpkina For Lambs. Pumpkins are good feed for lambs In early winter, especially when they are troubled with paper skin, caused by worms in the intestines. They will eat them if they are sliced or cut a»d sprinkled with salt, but it is better tfl provide flat bottomed troughs with compartments, each being large enough to receive the half of a pumpkin cut in such fashion as to have the pieces He flat, with the inside uppermost. Feedin* Pl*s. Whatever variety or type of hog is selected with which to operate, the early and rapid feeding method is by far the most economical and profitable. During the first months of a pig’s life growth and Increased weight can be made cheaper, or with less feed, than at any time later on In life. Ferdin* the Pigs. Pigs will begin to eat with the sows when two or three weeks old. If getting plenty of exercise it will not hurt them to crack a little corn. But the ideas feed Is skim milk and shorts in the form of a thin slop. It 'will make them grow and not get overfat. AdvMtutti of Dairying. While dairying has its dloadvantages, it has this great advantage—that it enables the fanner to utilize to an unusual extent the cheaper labor on the farm and to make the most" possible out of a small tract of land.