Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 39, Number 63, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 April 1907 — FARM AND GARDEN [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARM AND GARDEN

In training young colts drive them with a fast walker. Give the colts room to exercise. They cannot develop good muscles without it. Whether or not your livestock yield a profit may depend finally on the seed corn you use. Give the horse his heaviest feed at night. He has more time to digest it then. . A long shuck covers the tip of ear aud is a valuable protection against grain weevils and moths. Oats prove a satisfactory ration when given to fattening Jambs, but it requires about 25 per cent more oats than corn for a given gain. If a cow shows any symptoms whatever of not being in normal health, she should be taken to the hospital stable until all danger is over. A little precaution is worth a great deal of regret. Those who keep more than one variety of fowls should strictly keep each breed entirely by itself. It is a detriment to the business generally ftW customers to hatch out cross-breed chicks from supposed thoroughbred eggs.

Any one who has a few acres of land, ..whether used as a truck patch or a fruit farm, should keep a few fowls, not only for the direct income they will bring, bu-t ai'o for the large amount of valuable fertilizer they will furnish him, as well as the insects they destroy. A crack in the wall or a knot hole may receive but little consideration, yet a cofd draught from such a source may be injurious to the animal. When a cow shrinks in the yield of milk in winter while other cows are yielding up to the average, it Indicates that something Is wrong, the animal not being comfortable, and, unless the auarters are Tree irum draughts, the tanner win pay a penalty for negligence.

The ashes of plants show a larger peTcpntage of lime than of any other material, thus demonstrating that lime is a very necessary Ingredient in the soil. When phosphates are applied they carry lime to the soil, and the same is true of ashes. Lime also enters largely Into the composition of the hones of animals, and the most rapid growth is mnde by those animals which are fed on foods rich in lime, sijch as clover, bran and hay. Grain is deficient in llnje. Rhnbnrb May Be Divided. If rhubarb is to be divided it should be done In the autumn and not left to the spring, when the plants should be doing their best work. Cut so each bud will have a good piece of root, and set with manure below the soil on which the root rests and manure above * the soil covering it, the rain and snow of winter will do the rest. Later, If early outdoor stalks are wanted from established roots, a tall box or barrel should be put over each root with straw over the plant and n good wall of well rotted manure Inside the inclosure. There will probably be a good growth of tender stalks In the early spring. Soft-Shelled EWalt is generally believed that the softsbelled eggs occasionally, laid by the hen la due to deficiency of lime In the food. Some experiments carried out at the experiment station In Kansas, however, seem to Indicate that this Is not the right explanation. It rather appears to be a case of arrested development due to nervous shock, and to be analogous to abortion in mammals. Soft-shelled eggs were laid at the experiment station by hens subjected to nervous excitement. And it is shown that on an ordinary diet a ben’s system normally contains enough lime for shells of five or six eggs. If lime Is withheld, then, after laying these five or six, the hen will cense lnylng But 1f lime In limited quantity be given, the hen lnys eggs In projiortlon to the amount given, though the shells on Investigation, are found to be somewhat thinner than normal. Fertlllalnir Value of Potato Top*. --The mineral that the potato crop mostly exhausts from the soil Is |<ot ash. and this Is mainly found In the tops. The tubers have a large proportion of water, and their solid matter Is mostly starch, much. If not nil, of which Is taken from the air through the leaves. If potato tops nre covered lightly, so ns to prevent them from blowing away In winter, most of their substance will be woshed away Into tbe soli before spring. Any one who has pitted potatoes In the fall, covering with potato tops, will find In the spring

that the soil location has been en> ricbed. This does not come entirely from the potato tops, for the earthing up around the pit deepens the soil. Repeated freezing and thawing make It more soluble. The potash In the potato being set free may also contribute to the same result. Give tbe Sheep a Chance. „ The lambs come Into the world perfectly free 'from parasites and generally from germ diseases. It is probable that most of them are free from Internal parasites. The flock owner should realize this and endeavor to protect the little things from all that would make them less thrifty than they are when they are born, says Farmers’ Review. Some of the most successful flocks of sheep In the country have been made so because of the care bestowed upon them. In the very first place they have been protected against all kinds of parasites, and have been given quarters in which disease germs could not thrive. Their owners have realized the fact that about all that sheep need Is a chance to be thrifty. It is well known that they have in themselves an unusual power of resisting disease and oT rising above averse conditions. The successful raising of sheep does not reqijjre extraordinary measures so much as ordinary measures. The steps’ to be taken need to be those of protecting the sheep against enemies of various kinds rather than to devise new methods generally. —4-t will bo -found that the* successful shepherds are in all cases men that look carefully after the multitude of little things, which go to make up the grand total of things making for the welfare of the flock; To give the sheep a good fighting chance is nil that is necessary to insure success.

Selecting Pure Breeds, __ The selection of superior animals is done more carefully at present than formerly. Color has largely been the guide in determining the merits as well as the price of some of the purebred animals. Where the markings have much to do with the price to a fancier, the case is somewhat different, and it may be well enough to be governed, to a great extent, by those markings, or “points,” laid down in some recognized “standard”; but when considering the selection of the best specimens for utilitarian purposes it is not the best policy to adhere too closely in anv futthi- - ing,' for it does not alter 1 the economic —the real —value. No matter if a horse does have a “blaze face and three white feet,” If he can trot low down In the “teens,” and the would-be purchaser desires speed, a high price can always be secured for him. If a Jersey cow is “off color” and does not have the “black tongue and switch,” provided she not only produces extra fine calves, but is au exceptionally good and heavy butter producer, she will bring u good price if the owner can be induced to part with her, which is not often the case. To secure uniformity of breed characteristics it may be well enough to adopt characteristic marks and colors In certain breeds of live stock, but in some instances It has been enrried to an extreme. What should be desired is an animal bred for “business” first, and after that may follow the “fancy points.” The farmer who is not always partial tb “points” will be willing to pay a good price for an animal of any breed If he is certain that it can accomplish more than that derived from ordinary stock.

Feeding Covrn. I’rof. Eckles of tbe Missouri agricultural college has the following to say as to how to feed cows: "There are two common mistakes; first, not feeding enough; second, feeding a ration not properly balanced. About GO per cent of what a cow can eat is necessary to maintain her, without producing milk or gaining In weight. It Is not economy to feed only a little more than this GO per cent needed to keep up the cow’s body. Below are given balanced rations that will furnish the material necessary to produce milk lu about the right proportions. By the term ‘rations’ Is meant the feed for twenty-four hours. If a cow will not give a good flow of milk Ttt ttie ear|y part of the milking I>orlod, when fed a liberal amount of one of these rations, It Indicates that she is not adapted by nature to be a dairy anlnml and she should be disposed of. The amounts given nre about right for a row giving from 20 to 25 pounds of milk per day. For lienvy milkers these rations mV to be Increased and reduced for lighter milkers. In making up these rations, It Is designed that tbe cow be given practically all the roughness she will eat, and then atHfldent grain is added to furnish the necessary amount of digestible material: —•*— "1. Clover bay, 20 pounds; bran, 5 pounds, corn. (I to 8 jmunds. “2. Clover hay, 90 i>ounds; oats, 4 to 5 pounds; corn, G to 8 pounds. “3. Clover hay. 20 pounds; corn-and-cob meal, 8 to 10 pounds; gluten or cotton seed meal. 2 pounds. “4. Alfalfa or cowpea hay, 15 to 20 pounds; com, 9to 12 pounds. “5. Alfalfa or cowpea hay, 10 pounds; com stover, 10 pounds; corn, Bto 10 pounds; bran, 9 pounds.’*