Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 22, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 January 1895 — FARMS AND FARMERS. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARMS AND FARMERS.

FATTENING HORSES. Chicago Inter Ocean. , In preparing horses for sale good condition makes a and if it is honestly done there is no reason why the owner of a horse who desires to sell it should not put it in the shape that best meets the demands of customers, says an exchange. By honestly doing it we mean putting on flesh without med - icines or high condimental feeding, and putting it on under conditions of exercise that will insure its staying quality, and that it is not mere blubber or fat, injuriousjto the wind and endurance of the animal. For this purpose many horsemen use moderate quantities of flaxseed jelly; some employ steamed oil meal, If moderately fed these assist in digestion and keep the bowels in good condition,, putting on a glossy coat. While when moderately fed with other stable grains, oil meal aids in the formation of fat, it of itself is a good muscle making feed. Many a hard working horse would be all the better for a handful of oil meal at night, even when there is no intention of putting him in sale condition. By judicious individual feeding of good grains, with oil meal, a bunch of horses, even when somewhat run down, can be put in sale condition in six or eight weeks. There is not much use in trying to get a good price for thin horses, nor is there much business sense in letting them go for what they will bring; letting somebody else make the profit that can be made out of them by simply put ting on another hundred pound's or so of flesh. We have said that the feeding should be judicious, individual feeding. By this we mean that the owner * who is preparing them for market should carefully study the feeding capacity of each animal and feed accordingly. Hardly any two horses in the same lot will do equally well on the same ration. 1 There are many men throughout the West who make a business I of xrathering up thin horses and preparing them for market, and even under the present market conditions it is found to be profitable. The reason is that while all horses are low, there is always Sufficient I margin between thin horses and i those that are in prime sale condi- J tion to make it profitable to put the i flesh on. The business as a whole may not be a profitable one, but for the owner of horses who has raised them the. same is more profitable in ; good condition than in bad condi-; tion. Assuming that money is to be i lost in any attempt there is less loss if the horse is put in good condition before it is sold. If the man can

tnake a profitable business gathering Up thin horses and conditioning them (or sale, there is no reason why the farmer should not condition his own horses. It is comparatively easy to put the road and carriage horses in sale condition. They are not required to be fat. What is wanted is a moderate amount of good, solid flesh and an absence of all “gothic points.” The task of getting a heavy draft horse into good shape for sale is more difficult, because a larger amount of flesh must be put on, and buvers seem to want drafters with more fat than almost any other class of horses. Of course the seller must meet the buyers’ demands or suffer tor it- The question of the feeding of draft horses is greater in degree, but the principles are the same. The feeding should be good grain, feeding with oil meal, and with exercise •nough so that the gain will not disappear the first time the animal takes a good sweat. Many feeders use a condi men tai food with good reJults, provided care be taken to use t moderately. TREE PLANNING. Our farmers all through the country should deem it one of their high privileges to set out fruit and ornamental trees. These will yield profit in fruit or fine shade, and by the handsome foliage add to the beauty »f every country seat. What is seeded are trees all through our great prairie States to cool the atmosphere and equalize temperatures io summer, and by their roots and the organic matter covering them hold in check the waters and there-; by prevent in large measure the kprtng freshets and torrents, that ire the source of so much damage, belts of trees scattered broadcast *rar our prairies will result in the

firactical abolition of cyclones, or al east so temper their severity as t{ render them *of little harm. L 4 troubles the writer to read of whole sale destruction of forests by firq such as has been witnessed last sum mer. Kot,only is the great loss o! timber to be considered, but as wet the effect the removal of the treei will have upon the climate of thi sections. All of us farmers must try to offset in a measure this grea* evil by each one’s setting a few treei every year. A few dozen trees an not very much for one man to set but if all our farms receive such ad ditions annually, it takes but littlf calculation to see what enormom numbers will be added to the whoh country. Then the tree planter ii destined to receive a direct financia reward, for our timber supplies mus! eventually fail and prices for woof greatly advance. M. Lumner Perkins. THE ORCHARD. Inter Ocean. People who possess orchards ans fruit gardens should see tha,t thej are well fixed to pass the frigid season in safety, especially the, immature trees and vines planted during the recent fall, as these need carefu protection. There is little use is setting out a young orchard unlesi it is properly cared for during th« first winter, for if the trees are left to the mercy of the elements all th( labor and expense of planting them is likely to be thrown away. A grea! many growers are careless in this regard; thrust a young tree into the ground, give it no care, and then il it dies blame the nurseryman. Good surface drains should bf made in the orchard, and precautions taken to protect the trees frora mice, rabbits, and other enemies. Il is a good plan to put a mound o! earth, say a foot or more high, around the trunk of each tree, anc press it down firmly. This can easilj be done on mild days, and it will not only keep the tree steady better than stakes, but also prevent the attach of mice. The pruning of grapevines should be completed before seven weather, especially if the wood is t< be used for cuttings. Strawberry beds ought to have a mulch on thi ground, but the plants themselvei need but slight covering except in very exposed situations. Tendei I raspberries and grapevines may still I be laid down and slightly covered with earth, if the soil is open, and thus assure bearing next season. HORSE NOTES. Early colts should be weaned earlj so as to give them a good run o» i grass before cold weather. Colti i that are foaled after the middle GJ June should not be weaned until thi middle of winter, and fall colti should not be weaned until nearlj , spring. No one should attempt t<

wean a colt until it has learned eat and drink well with its mother, then" shut her up till the colt geti quiet and seldom frets. The most reliable statistics shoi that there has been a very great falling off in the total number oi horses in America during the past year, and it is claimed that, whih from the time they were first intro duced in this country there had been a steady and quite rapid increase up to about 1892, reaching a, that time not only a greater total than ever before, but that it was then greater than is likely ever to bt reached again. The raising of draft horses has brought millions of dollars to American farmers. The grade draft horses for several years sold for S2O( to 1300 and have for years mads more money to the farmer than anj other stock, and if he has wisely kept his grade draft mares he is now in condition to make more money tc the farmer than any other stock. True, the prices are down, but high , grade draft horses still sell for double the price of small horses. The market reports quote good draft horses from SIOO tc $l5O and light harness horses SSO tc $75, yet the great majority of horses marketed are of the srqall, worthless kind, just as scrub cattle fill ths markets at $ to 2} cents, while expert high grades sell readily at 5 cents. A car load of extra good draft horses from Ohio recently sold at Chicago at $135 apiece to Eastern shippers. Many horses are bought from the West and matured in Ohio and Pennsylvania. It pays ths farmer and breeder better to maturs and break the draft horses ready foi market These coltscan earn theii own feed from 2 to 5 years old al farm work, and if fattened ,and broke to work and heavy, always sell well

THE JERSEY COW COOMASSIE ONE OF THE ANIMALS FAMOUS IN THE ISLANDOI JERSEY IN PASTYEARS,—Farmers’ Review.