Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 39, Number 58, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 March 1907 — FARM AND GARDEN [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARM AND GARDEN

Give the swine ideal conditions and they will increase the profits they are returning. When nature made the mule she forgot beauty points, but she made up on the utility points. ■ A stunted colt will never make so good a horse as one kept vigorously growing from the start. , If ducks are overfed, they sometimes become so fat that their legs are Incapable of supporting their bodies. The farmer who has his surplus capital Invested in good horses has a draft which he can draw at any time. The thumps in pigs is often called fry an excess of fat about the Internal organs and especially around the heart. A supply of machine oil will sometimes save wear and tear on human inerves as well as the gearing of a windmill. „ ' ’ The tame pigeon Is one of the most profitless propositions on the farm, its luse as pot pie timber seldom serving to pay for its keep. How does it. make you feel to see a sls old sow nose' around a SIOO fat steer until she puts him out of his snug nee tv nd takes possession herself? The sows that are confined in farrowing pens should be provided with a yard for exercise. Many sows aitt lost by constipation caused by lack c< Exercise before farrowing. A quarantine pen is necessary on every farm where hogs are kept and should be made tight. Any new hogs that come into the herd should be placed in It and confined until all danger is past. Have measures and scales, learn how much difference there is in the yield of the cows, and then figure out how much the loss Is in keeping a poor cow. Do not take some other man’s word for it, but do It yourself, and you will be convinced. Cows, when given warm water, give more milk. They also look better and are less liable to sickness. It is safe to let a cow drink all the warm water she wants at any time, but it is not safe to let her drink all the cold water she wants. This information cost us enough so that we remember it. The farmer who confines himself to two or three staple crops, and who has not ventured beyond them, does not know the full capacity of his farm. He should try some special crops on a small area, and endeavor to have a greater variety of articles to sell. The causes of failures In some crops do not Influence other kinds. There is one thing that Is badly needed in all small towns and cities, and that Is a comfortable rest room for farmers’ wives and daughters. I have seen women sitting around feed yard offices for hours, waiting for the then folks. It don’t look right, gentlemen, and you shouldn’t ask your good ladles to do it. The parlors of a comfortable hotel make much better waiting rooms than feed yard offices.—lowa Homestead.

The Tillable Land, The tillable land of the farm is that part of the farm from which comes the main revenue. For this reason the American farmer does well to give this his consideration at the very first. Since the farmers’ Institutes were started twenty years ago most of the work ihas been along the line of field crops. The director of one State institute was asked why the Institutes did not diversify their work more. lie replied that the field crops were so important that till the farmers understood how to get the most out of those crops the Institutes would not attempt to do much ■with subjects of less Importance. The tillable land must have first consideration. Milkins Machines. Now that milking machines have shown us that they can milk cows without drying them up a new claim Is tbelng made for them. The milk is drawn in a vacuum and deposited in a covered pall through tubes without coming In contact with the atmosphere. It is viell known that milk is spoiled by bad odors from the stable and from dust and dirt falling Into It during the -process of milking. In the best dairies a great deal of expense and care are continually expended to procure milk as clean as possible. • if the milking machine proves as satisfactory as It {promises to be It will revolutionize dairying, not only solving the labor problem as applied to milking, but by .furnishing a better quality of milk at expense. It Is said that mile

drawn from the udder by the milking machine and carried at once to thoroughly cold sterilized bottles will keep in good condition for a week. ■ -./■ Skim Milk For H«n». The Department of Agriculture has received a report from the West Virginia Experiment Station of a test made to "determine the value of skim milk as against water for wetting 1 feed mash. . In the first test, which covered 122 days, twenty-two hens fed skim milk laid 1,244 eggs, as compared with 998 eggs laid by the twenty-two hens fed mash wet with water. In the first period of the second test, sixty hens fed the skim milk ration laid 862 eggs In thirty-seven days, as compared with 682 eggs laid by a similar lot fed no skim milk. In the second period the rations were reversed. The chickens fed skim milk laid 1,220 eggs in fifty-six days, as compared with 978 In the case of the lot fed no skim milk. In both experiments more eggs were produced when skim milk was substituted for water for moistening tbe mash. Under the conditions prevalling in these experiments and with eggs selling for 20 or 25 cents per dozen the skim milk used for moistening the mash had feeding value of from iy 3 to 2 cents per quart. In these trials 802 quarts of skim milk were fed, resulting in an increase in the egg production of 702 eggs. Economy in Feeding, Ear corn and clover hay proved to be the most efficient ration used in a test in economy of grain; rate of gain and profit per steer, conducted by the Indiana station. Ear corn, shredded stover and oat straw, supplemented ’With linseed meal, proved to be more efficient than ear corn, shredded stover and oat straw In economy of grain, rate of gain and profit per steer. A ration of ear corn, shredded stover and oat straw w-as not efficient, economical or profitable. The addition of some nitrogenous foodstuff, either In the form of concentrate or roughage, added to the efficiency of the ration and to the profit of the feeder. The value and importance of clover hay for fattening cattle was clearly demonstrated. Linseed meal proved to be an efficient and profitable supplement when fed with ear corn, shredded stover and oat straw. The steers receiving a ration of ear corn, shredded stover and oat straw, supplemented with linseed meal, were as well finished ns those receiving ear corn and clover hay, although they made smaller gains. The steers receiving a ration of ear corn, shredded stover and oat straw without the linseed meal were not comparable with the other two lots In finish, rate of gain or profit. The narrower the ration in this test the greater was the dally consumption of dry matter per 1,000 pounds live weight. The total amount of dry matter consumed daily per steer, the rate of gain and the cost of gain were greatest when the cattle were on full feed. The hogs following the steers fed on ear corn and clover made the greatest gain. A comparison of the different rations fed in the test shows that the most rapid gains were the cheapest and most profitable.

Colorado Potato Irrigation. The details of irrigation depend upon the size and contour of the field to be irrigated. Many of the fields are arranged so that the rows are from onefourth to one-half mile long. If the land slopes sufficiently and continuously a gross the field from the supply ditch, the problem Is simple. At the first application the water is turned Into a lateral at the head of the rows. A canvas dam is placed In the lateral so as to bold the water back and raise it into the rows, says a Colorado bulletin. Afttr the water has run in these rows a sufficient length of time to thoroughly wet the Soil, the canvas dam Is pulled out and reset further down the lateral, and the water is stopped by blocking the heads of the Irrigated rows, with soil. In large fields the water is run in alternate rows only. The head of water let Into the rows depends upon the slope and length of rows. If the rows are short and the Incline steep, the head must be small or the stream will reach the far side so quickly that enough water -will not bo used to thoroughly wet the soil. On the other hand. If the rows are long and the land nearly level the head of water is increased so as to force it along the rows faster, or a transverse ditch is cut through the middle of the field so as to shorten the distance that the water has to flow. If ridges occur In the field transverse ditches are run along at their top and irrigating Is done both ways from it. When the water has run in the ditches till it seeps through to the unirrigated row, the soil Is sufficiently wet. At the second Irrigation the water Is run in the rows not Irrigated the first time. As the vines become large, the Irrigation becomes more difficult, owing to the lodging of the vines In the ditches, tIU at last considerable trouble Is sometimes experienced to get the water through. On the other hand, as the vines grow larger the soil is more protected from the sun, so that the evaporation becomes less and tbs plants suffer less frosg the want of water.