Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-12-29
AGRICULTURAL.


them too long in the fields without any feed
at the barn. Most farmers are accustomed
| to think that each day that their sheep can
| be made to live without feeding of hay.
| by just so much they have made gain.silf
| the number of feeding .dayslbetween now
and the middle of next May can be lessen
| ed ten or fifteen, of course the amount OF
| forage that would have been consumed In
that time has been SGred. Such is the rea-
| soning, even at this day, of many men who
| would not like to be called unskillful stew
| ards in their business-but 1t Is all mis-
take. Eoii iii.Hl-o9IaHar8 r8 900 10 a.iss31'
To keep an animal from the time grass
| fails in the autumn to the day of lis reap |
| pearance in the following spring is not a
| question Of time-tlle number of days Of
| barn feeding simply--but it is a question
| of the maintenance of given amount OF
| vital power in the auimal; and II at any
| time during this period, you lessen the re-
| quired amount OF food to sustain the nee
essary amount of this vital power, the ami |
NAL makes up the deficiency by drawing
| upon those stores which have been laid by |
| within itself during its summer feeding. |
| If the grass has failed, so that the necessary
| wear of the organization cannot be main
tanned therefrom, and you do not meet the |
| deficiency from the stored-up forage in the
| barn, why, then the animal must feed itself
| on its own fat. l." ~ . 9N
It is true a sheep will live on frost-bitten
| grass for while, but when all the herbage
of the fields has become thoroughly with
| cred up by the action of repeated frosts, so
| but little is left save the woody fibre, the
amount of nutrimenG it affords is. very
small. Still you say, MY sheep fill them
selves WELL" So they do, and hence you
| ''let them run" till the SHOWS whten the
| la1 IND ht1f fxryif or
which does them but little good, and what
they have failed to gather from the fields
| the chemical laboratory in their systems Is
silently, but surely, taking from the fat
which they have taken on during the sum
| mer. They will maintain good appear
| ance during the month of November, but
| wien they at length come into winter quar-
ters, they suddenly "falloff." Though you
1 feed hay literally, and they ''fill them
| Selves" still they "lose flesh" You will
| find that more hay must be given, and an
extra amount of grain, and half the winter
| will be consumed in bringing your flock
up to where it was at the first of November.
! The appearance of the sheep during Novem-
Der deceived you. While you thought they
were ''iiIling themselves" well on the thrice
dead, barren grass of your fields, they were
| really feeding on misunderstanding up
| their own fat and flesh. .....,..
A more careful examination during these
| weeks will also show you another fact. 1t
will be found that the wool has grown but
| little, if fany,during these first weeks OF win
ter-the time consumed in getting the flock
swell settled into winter quarters" The
| simple reason is, that the animal isusihg up
all the food it can get to pay back what was
borrowed from its treasure-house of sur
| plus fat during the weeks you were COM
pelling it to live upon dead, frost-bitten
grass, and has none left of which to make
| wool. No amount of subsequent care can
make up for this loss. ....
Running sheep into the winter In this
way is much like running railroad train
on down grade. Gravity, and the already
acquired momentum, carry the train along
gloriously, and there appears to be little
need of steam. But if the fires are allowed
to slacken and the steam to Ego down."
when he comes to the up grade the eengineer
will find his mistake. Then there must be
a halt till just so much steam can be "got
up" as was lost by falling to keep the
fires going, and the steam up to the requir-
ed point. IaHrl 't. 8t 10 1o.s70l
1t is just so with the animal organiza-
tion-it requires given amount of steam
or force, or, as we have called it, vital
power, to carry the animal over the "up
grade" of the winter, and If we allow
the first to 20 down in the autumn, we
must stop in the. winter till they can be
''got up .'H! nda ~
If we are wise, then, we shall see that our
| flocks-especially breeding ewes-have a
| little food from the barn, just in proportion
rs the herbage of the fields fail. A little
| hay once day, or few turnips, or a small |
allowance of grain, almost any eatabie for
age that may be about the barn, will meet
| the deficiency. To go back to our figure,
we can burn chips on the down grade if we
are short for wood. ta a7f- "a o. .aNra'
We have no hesitation in saying that one
| buslIel of oats fed while the sheep have
nothing else to eat but absolutely dead
grass will do as much good as two fed
after they have begun to "Iall away" in the
winter. 1r 10 ,a.'H rag a.F ssuJl
The law which we have attempted to IL
lustrate, is but one of the many, though
perhaps it is the fundamental one, which
govern the animal Kingdom, aud we shall
| be successful in our attempts to make the
lower animals contribute to our comfort,
just in proportion as we adjust all the APP
pliances of art, in strict accordance with
the workings of these laws. If we fail in
this point, we fail in our results. We can't
cheat nature here any more than elsewhere,
and we had better not try.-Dr, Boynton, in
N. H. Farmer, y" ie'l1'
| Fowls LAYING IN WINTEE.--The house
should be large enough to give plenty of
room for the fowl; it should face the south,
with good board fence about six feet high
on the north and west sides of che yard, as
it forms q good protection from the cold
winds. The front should be entirely of
glass; window sashes with six, by eight
lights are the best,I so if they get broken
it will not cost as much to mend it, There
should be good floor to 1t, which must be
kept clean. The nests can be placed on the
back side about a. foot from the floOE so
that the sun can shine in them, as it makes
it warm and pleasant to the hens. Myhena
houses, which are made on this plan. are
almost as warm as my Kitchen. One thing
Is very certain, and that is that hens can
not be made to lay in the winter, no mat
ter how well fed, unless they have good |
dry, warm, and light apartment especially
in stormy weather. ID % Yiis5.,,r.ff ~ |
,IdNow in regard to their food. think |
that the more variety you give them the |
better. i have. q regular bill of,fare for |
each day. First day, corn with meat and |
cabbage; next oats, with meat next, meal |
and bOileo mashed potatoes; next wheat, |
with cabbage or other vegetables; next, |
barley with meat; next, scaIded meal with |
cayenne pepper. / think that grain Is bet- |
ter boiled than inathe raw state, and IL q |
beef bone is put in the water ut improves !
the flavor much. In feeding meal and |
mashed potatoes putin little cayenne I
pepper. Feed warm but not too hot. The |
lungs, liver, and tripe of an OK is what / |
use for fresh meat. lt should be boiled |