Rensselaer Republican, Volume 21, Number 1, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 September 1888 — THE FARM AND HOME. [ARTICLE]

THE FARM AND HOME.

' . RAISING HORSES. Rural New Yotker. I consider the raising of good horses one of the most remunerative lines of oat live-stock industry. I prefer to breed the grade Percheron or a cross of our best bred roadster mares* of good style and action, with the larger type of oUr Amerjcan-bred road horse. The horse for farm or market should be strong-boned, well-muscled and roundbodied, not too tall, and must have good feet. He should be of good spirit, without being nervous or fretful, and should have a good square trotting irtove&Hqtas well as a rapid walk. He should Dark colorshre p^fygble—black, brown o'M^ay—and a eWrecirftsqyy is allowing from 1 ,W farm team to weighing ' 'OO or 1,000 pounds, b&GEHjjb' more cheaply kept, make a team more conveniently handled, and Ihoif is better applied to machinery. They also require less outlay for harness and other appliances for wo'k. Our horseraising farmers find their work quite as profitable as father leading farm industries. , We raise’grade Percherons,which find a ready market at the farm, at 3 or 4 years gs age. After fourteen years of breeding in this line we have no surplus stock. These colts, counting interest on investment in dam, service of stallion, feed of dam until the colt is weaned, and cost of feed for colt ''till 3 vearsold, can be raised for less than SIOO per head, and will readily sell for from $l5O to S2OO. An equally careful computation of the cost of raising a steer would show that it costs as much to raise a steer as a colt._ _ We nandle our colts for continuous thrift and eirly maturity. We use good hay and corn fodder, oats and wheat bran; give a run of commodious yards during.the day, and keep in stables at night. No special training or handling is given, except that bitting is essential in fitting the heavy colt for th e farm or market. I do not believe in the- production of “general-purpose horses.”—but would breed for a special purpose, indicated by the requirements of the market, and the work eontempjfited. We find a sale for all the good, stjmsh, high-stepping horses, weighing from 1,150 to 1,300 pounds, we can produce for carriage teams. The heavy horse is always in demand, and the heavier he is the higher price he will bring in market Our farm horses can be selected from the less salable results of these two lines of breeding, the less stylish roadsters, or the lighter weights from the draft breeding. There is no need of little horses with us, and horses weighing less than 1,100 pounds are notin demand. CROPS THAT GROW RAPIDLY. Philadelphia Record. < Some of ythe most important crops grown are those that are seeded after the summer opens. While certain plants may require the cooler weather of spring, with plenty of time for growth, any failure of the crops seeded in the spring dues not necessarily cause a loss of the whole season, as some of the most profitable crops grown are put in as late as July? The sweet potato, bean, millet' buckwheat and turnip crops are strictly summer crops, and grow rapidly and mature early. The sweet potato plants areset out in rows like cabbage, and this compels the work to be done rather early in the season when the ground is moist, which renders the plants subject to injury on cool nights, as they are very tender. This desire to. get the sweet potato plants out early has caused their loss, and it is necessary this season for replanting in many instances. It is not the early plants that always take the lead in growth, but those that start off under the most favorable conditions, and late plants, therefore, may produce better than those put out early. Millet is one of the most profitable crops that can, be grown, especially on fields not suitable to clover, as it |entails but little labor and produces hay of excellent quality if cut when the seed-flowers appear. Much depends on the time of cuttiifg and curing the crop. Hungarian grass, which is closely allied to millet, can be used for pasture grass when young, or it may be mowed at intervals of time allowed for growth and cured as hay. Millet and Hungarian grass are excellent weed exterminators. The seed germinates quickly and ‘soon takes possession of the ground, crowding out the weeds and killing them in their first stages. Buckwheat is a summer crop that has long been known as a agent for reducing rough soil and for plowing under as a green manurial crop. The turnip crop is one of the most important. Formerly farmers gave the turnip crop but little attention, owing to the labor required for its production, but at the present day the opening of the row's, seeding, covering and weeding can be~done with implements especially adapted for the purpose, and the crop should be a leading one on every farm. Turnips can be grown in large fields if the ground be pfoperly prepared, and for winter use, fed to stock either cooked or raw, they serve to promote health and increase the value of the grain rations by their diet- , able effect. It has been shown that whenever roots are fed to stock in connection with other food the combination gives a greater increase than an exclu- -:" r '- i

sive diet of one kihd, and this fact alone gives an additional value to the turpip crop. TEED AND CARE FOR EGGS. . Correspondence Country Gentleman. From my observation, many of the poultry raisers who make a specialty of eggs are, ready to overrate the itnportance of the breed and to underrate the value and importance of proper food and shelter. —— They pay high prices for pure-bred fowls, and then give them no care; hence, in a short time, they are ready to inform us that there is no money in poultry raising, backing up their assertion with the clincher that “they’ve tried it.” As long as they content themselves '%ith telling their neighbors, and refrain from speaking through newspapers to those w r ho are ignorant of the nature of their trial,no harm is done. It would have been gnore profitable for them to have kept on wUh'fcdheir common breed; the results •Would Wbeen fully as satisfactory, and they womdjiave been saved the expense of fine fowls* Nfa--do believing that the breed cuts no figure. I hold that blood will tell in domestic fowls as quickly at ip animals. That there it nothing so good to lay as a Leghorn or a Hamburg hen is past dispute. But even phe will neglect her duty if aHe. be ill fed, lousy, diseased—while I have had healthy Buff Cotehins to lay through the winter in a way that would do credit to a Leghorn, notwithstanding their reputation for shirking. The demands of the laying hen are simple, but they are imperative. At this season, w r hen they can two light meals daily are all the food needed. In the morning I feed a stiff mush,made of coarse bran and boiling water or sweet milk, seasoned with salt, into which is stirred the previous day’s scraps from the kiteken. Any scraps of meat, should first be chopped fine, and pieces of bread and other dry food dropped into the pot before the bran is added, to allow them to soak. In warm weather make this fresh each day, as it quickly sours. I prefer making it the previous evening, that it may become cool before feeding. Green food is essential. Hens with a good range pick up much of it in their foraging yet it is well to chop fine any paring of fruit or vegetables, and scatter them where the hens will have access to them. This plan may seem a little troublesome, but it has the double advantage of disposing of refuse from the kitchen, and of benefiting the poultry. If the hens are confined in inclosures, larger quantities of this green food must be supplied. They will then enjoy chopped apples, cabbage, beets, or, indeed, anything fresh and crisp. Hens denied forage will also require more meat to make good the loss of insects. But nothing we can supply will equal iii value the food foraged for, while the healthful exercise of getting it is lost altogether. Hens kept in confinement can not be as satisfactory as those allowed freedom. Laying and foraging go together. The Leghorns and' Hamburgs, far ahead of all others as layers, are alert and untiring, while the only fence that turns them is the one built expressly for the purpose. Somewhere in the poultry yard have an ash heap,.for chickens musfcMast—it is their bath, and with them, as with everything else, filth means disease. A little of sulphur mixed through , each panful of ashes before it is emptied here will keep them free from lice. Near this is a good location for the heap of gravei and crushed bone or oyster shells that is to furnish the lime_needed. Give the fowls all the meat bones from the house, either crushed fine or burned. If you are so siuated as to secure either ground bone or shell, you will find it valuable food. Or if these are not to be had already pulverized, they must be prepared in a small hand mill, or even by the slower method of pounding them up with an ax. A weekly panful of charcoal is also good. Keep . pure, fresh water always within reach, with a panful of sweet milk or clabber occasionally, by way of change. For drinking vessels I prefer either shallow earthen vessels or wooden troughs; never use a Fusty pan. If troughs are used they should be scrubbed out often, to prevent the accumulation of green mold. Keep the drinking vessel in the shade and renew the water , several times through the day. 'lhe roosting place demands three things—cleanliness, good ventilation and good drainage. See to it that your poultry house possesses these. There are fowls that in summer roost on the fence; in winter huddled together in corners of sheds and pig-stys. Is it any wonder that a hen that fights for her life with vermin, cftld and disease does not lay? Add to this the fact that she forages for a living and quench her thirst at stagnant pools, and I say it would be a very forgiving hen that did lay after such treatment. Provide plenty of dry, airy nests; let them be wßwfortable if they are not pretty. Box nests are good if they are made large enough, the dimensions depending upon the breed of fowls, as the hens of different breeds vary much in size. I like the old-time barrel nests, especially for large hens that are clumsy flyers and need low nests. Then they are so easily moved, or emptied when one wishes to put in fresh straw. Never put a nest in any but a Tight, airy room." There will be little doubt of your hens laying if you have done your best in everything aketo m them comfortable. j *