Jasper County Democrat, Volume 15, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 June 1912 — NOTES From MEADOWBROOK FARM [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

NOTES From MEADOWBROOK FARM

By Willam Pitt

Do not make too violent crosses, j Select a type and stick to it. It is not so much the make of incubator as the man who runs it. Air-slaked lime is a valuable disinfectant in the poultry house. Variety is always good, but sudden and abrupt changes are dangerous. It pays in more ways than one to be on friendly terms with the heifers. The sort of seed corn to select is the kind that produces bushels per acre. Correct sour or acid soil with one to five tons per acre of crushed limestone. To maintain normal soil fertility the supply of humus must be conserved. The business hen is the hen that puts her daily credits in the egg basket. The only proper way to replenish the flock is to save the best lambs each year. A common cause of slow churning is an overfilled churn. Half full Is about right. Dirty collars are probably as responsible for sore shoulders as Illfitting ones. . Keep the horses well cleaned, but remember that you can be cruel with the curry comb. The hopper system of feeding is a good one. but put only one kind of feed in one hopper. The fault of too many dairy farmers is failure to make the cows produce up to their limit. Too much corn has caused the loss of many a fine litter of pigs, and often the loss of the sow as well. In raising horses for one’s own use it should be done as intelligently as if it were to be a regular business. Spraying is one of the unavoidable tasks of the farmer who would keep his orchard in desirable condition. Arsenate of lead which is held over from the year before will be good if it has not dried out and become a hard lump. When turkeys are penned up to fatten for market, good results are not obtained if they are cramped for room. Now and then put a little brine on the straw, it acts as an appetizer, and the sheep clean up the straw better. A heifer may give as much milk in proportion to the food eaten as a mature cow, and make some growth in addition. A paint brush that has become hardened with paint can be made soft and pliable by immersing it in boiling Vinegar. It is just as easy to multiply defects in breeding as it is to strengthen good points, and many people are doing the former. The colt crop on the general farm may be made a by-product that will cost very little, but swell the bank account considerably. i

Seed corn? Of course you have it all in good shape and ready for the germination test. Do not plant a grain unless you know it comes from sound stock. The best medicine jn the world for poultry are dry, clean quarters and lots of sunshine. Better lose every other poultry recipe known than to forget this. The great need of the day is educated dairymen, men who understand the care and feeding of the cow as well as the successful marketing of her products. Test the spray hose several days before needed for spraying. Try it wtth the highest pressure you will use. If It bursts easily or leaks, make the needed repairs in It, or get a new hose. It will save delays at a critical Mme. Something similar to a scantling, a foot or two from the ground, is the only proper perch for turkeys. This allows ' the breastbones to grow straight, making the nent or two more cc? ’ -■> ‘ market