Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1853-11-30
Rules for Winter.

Now is the time, in the Northern States, TO he
preparing for winter; and few simple rules may
be useful as remembrancers, especially to young
and inexperienced farmers.
L. Keep no more stock than you can keep re-
ally well. IL you have more, pick ont the most
inferior and sell them. Better 10 winter ten head
well. and have themn fine condition in the spring,
than TO keep twenty half. starved, which il will
require all the next summer to put into condition.
Ill. heat and shelter are equivalent TO food
Ask yourself whether It is best to spend humid
red dollars IN pnttiug up good shed, which will
last for years; save half your fodder and pre-
serve your stock healthy and comfortable or TO
spend this hundred dollars in hay and other fod
der In wasted manure, and diseased and diving
stock 1t is fully proved that well-shetered an
lmas, with racks d eat from, can be winlered
and kept in a fine condition. on half the food
necessary where stock is fed out of doors on the
ground, with the la side of a rail-lence for shell
ter; and this without taking into consideration the
saving of manure, and many other items of
profit.
Ill. You cannotmake your young animals too
comfortable, or fed them too well during the
hrst winter. If they are once stunted, or slarv.
ed, they will never recover H. This applies 10
all kinds of stock, but especially 10 calves and
colts.
~. Therefore make provision not only for
their shelter, but also for their food Hay alone
Will not do for them. If you have no roots, feed
them on bran, and crushed oats, and corn The
secret of having iie Stock is TO keep them al
ways in growing condtion. This they do during
GUNNER on the best grass and the cold of win
ter consumes great proportion of the food eaten
In producing heat, which in summer goes to con.
stltute flesh and fat. II is morally impossible
that yonng animal can continue to grow during
our winters on the same food which keeps il in
summer. Both lie size and health of your ami
mails, and the Reproducing power of your
cows, will depend on their being well fed during
winter.
V. 1t has beer fully proved, that if your sheep
are shut upa winter, with a sufficiency of wat
er, they can be sept fat on wheat and oat straw
alone, and MAXI a vast quantity OF manure,
though few root, or little grain once or twice
week is bette. Thus, by having proper
building, you car turn all your straw into wool at
80 cents pound.an the richest manure, instead
of burning it. or citing it rot, as is so often DONE
Would not this son pay for shed?
vi Remembe that you raise cattle in orLerto
make profit on hem. Ii costs, on an average,
20 year 10 rails common COW, in the COM
mon way, to majority, at four years old ,-and
then you barely Jet $50 for it. II may cost you
~ year to rase a fine grade to maturity, at
three years old sand you will get $50 for it. In
one case you basly get what The beast costs you;
~ the other, you make $29 profit. As regards
horses, the dltiennce is greater still. Depend on
1t, no one ever made money on stock by half
starving and neaect but you cannot fail TO make
money, if you beed judlciously, and feed and
shelter literally,
VII. Il you would grow profitable crops, and
prevent your lam from being impoverished, you
must manure llbrallv. This manure you must
either make or hy, if you can find any one to
sell It Tor our Western lands must have vegeta-
Bile, as well as dineral manuIes Now, if YOU
allow cattle AMI sheep to run loose all winter.
you will make 10 manure. If you keep them up
all winter, you viii make great deal oft The
annual difference is, probably, on a common
farm, 20 busheI of wheat, Or this year, $20-
| That would paylO per cent. interest on 5000 in
vested in bulldogs. But as you could keep 20
head of stock SHIT up, on the same food that ten
would consumerunning loose, we may call the
difference Of prft far greater than that
VIII. Asain,every heap Of dirty rotten straw
is not " manure" though ii is often called so by
courtesy. Mamre is OF no use to a plant, until
1t can be dssoled in water. Now, if you leave
heap of srawand dung exposed TO the rain and
sun, nearly al that makes it useful to plant
runs of, or escpes into the air. After time,
nothing Us lett ht humus, or rather, woody FIBRE
1t is true that rten wood may do some good in
some lands bt why wash your manure clean of
] every thing esI before you apply il The best
| preserved and chest barn-yard manure, consists
| Of