The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1870-04-15
FARM. GARDEN AND HOUSEHOLD.
Potatoes for Pork.

writes from Bellevue, Ohio, as follows:
The first week in September we bought
seventy-ive hogs, average weight 16I
pounds, at eight cents. We fed them
forty-four days on boiled potatoes and
corn meal, and then sold at nine cents pei
pound on foot. When taken from the pen
the hogs averaged a fraction over 25S
pounds, the gain being Sc pounds, or q
fraction less than 2 pounds day. each,
for the whole time.
Gross receipts for 76 hogs. s..........S1,73 ,731 &C
First cost do do 81, OILS 36
do 200 bush. meal. 1876 90 1,2O1 sc
Leaving for 1,2OO bush. bad pOta-
toes s.-.......-....... sou a
or fraction over A cents per bushel.
Pounds.
The hogs weighed, when sold. -: 19 ,24g
do when purchased. 1852
Gained by feeding 1 200 bs. potatoes. {, 54s
or fraction less than 81 pounds to each
bushel of potatoes.
From the figures it appears that it re-
quires eighteen bushels of potatoes and
three bushels of meal to make 100 pounds
of pork; therefore, pork bought at eight
cents and sold at nine cents per pound will
sell potatoes at fifty cents per bushel, pro-
vided the meal is paid for by the one cent
extra which you get on each pound pur-
chased. Of course much depends, in this
case, on the weight of the hog fed, and the
amount fed to each hog.
Pork bought at eight cents and sold at
eight, will sell the potatoes at thirty-three,
allowing 50 20 cover the cost of meal.
One man can wait on the table for about
$50 hogs. This expense and little more
for rubbish from the woods and along the
fences to keep the kitchen fire up, is fully
covered by what is saved in manure and
wholesaling the potatoes, big and little,
sound and unsound, on the farms, as was
done in the experiment given.
One hundred and fifty hogs will eat about
sixty bushels of potatoes in day, if prop
erly fed.
We expect to mash up a few thousand
bushels next April, if unsuccessful in ''cor-
nering" somebody, to raise the price in
market.
Feeding Horses.
We find that few farmers have any sys-
tenn about feeding their horses, or if they
pretend to have, it Is not strictly adhered
to, by either themselves or their employees.
Now, all of us admit the advantages of
in meals for mankind, even tho
we wholly neglect it with our animals
And not only do we believe in meals at
regular hours, but in uniform quantities or
portions. Man, endowed with reason, sell
dom eats more than he wants; the animal
without reason will eat far more than is
good for it, and in some cases enough to
cause death. Now much food is wasted
by such irregularity of feeding, and the
horses are not kept in near as good condi-
ton as those which receive less food in a
proper way and at proper intervals.
Horses should never be allowed to be-
come cloyed with any foed. If too much
hay is fed to them, they will blow upon it,
pull it down, and trample it under their
feet As general rule, about one half of
the hay that is fed is wasted. Cut feed is
better for work horses. Oats are better for
driving horses. When considerable grain
is given, onlya small amount of hay should
be fed. If those who feed largely of hay
will look carefully after the feeding, they
will make q great saving thereby WHAT'S
true of the waste in feeding horses is to a
great extent true in the management of
horn cattle. In brief, feed moderately and
regularly, and always keep the animal in
good condition.
Grazing Meadows.
1t is a great folly to suppose that mead
ows composed of natural grasses are injur-
ed by grazing. Moving annually will soon
weaken any grassland, but grazing with
cattle and sheep will quickly improve ii, if
the coarse and sour portions of the field are
kept down, so as not to have ''ton per acre
left on it to protect the roots next winter"
as some people recommend. To prevent
the animals from eating very bare in
places and leaving other parts un-
touched, some application will be desira-
BILE, according to the composition of
the soil. which will induce them to eat up
the rough parts, if tits sown on early in the
season; salt in moderate quantity will an
swer the purpose, and plaster will help, or
ashes of any kind will sweeten the flavor
Alternate grazing aud moving is an excel
ent plan on old grass land, and do not be
afraid of eating the roots or be fooled into |
he belief that it is wisdom to stock light; |
Dut when well or evenly grazed over the |
surface; it is good policy to take the stock |
1ff it very early in the autumn, particularly |
when it is moved the next year.
Achievements OF Cows.
At late meeting of the "Institute Farm :,
srs' Club, n. Y, sundry communications |
we're read on the productiveness of COWS. |
John w. Temple, Lionville, Pa, wrote that |
MS cows-common ones-gave a net in
come each during the past season of 500. |
The food was about four quarts of meal |
Zach per day, before turning out to pasture,
the meal as the season ad-
7anced. In the winter, the milk-room is |
heated by a wood stove, and kept at an
even temperature, and the cream churned |
without any admixtlre of milk. Wheat
and rye mixed with corn, is the
Tinte: food of the COWS aside from the GUS
omary hay ration. Aubury HOFFMAN, of |
he same town, made during the season
pounds of butter per week from
wo Durham cows. 7. ]. Bussey, Macedon,
\. Y, MIXED four COWS the past season,
he income from each being S129.41t or
S517. 20 for the four. Grass in the sum-
ner. clover hay in the fall, and potatoes |
added in the winter, constitute their food. |
DR. aiming In Relation to Temperature. /
To prove that draining does affect the |
of the soil, premium was |
given some years ago in Britain, by noble |
nan who takes deep interest in the pro- |
1uction of agriculture, for the best series |
Of observations and experiments, to be made |
ln soil OF the same nature, In the same |
locality, and bearing the same crop. From |
this collection of carefully prepared and |
reliable data was obtained, showing among |
other things, that in well drained land. dur |
ing long-coEtinued frost, the temperature !
Of the land was, at a depth of thirty inches
below the surface, one degree and half
higher than the undrained; that showers of
sleet and rain lowered the temperature of
highly drained land two degrees and of un-
drained four degrees. In every case the
result obtained was in favor of the drained
land; except in summer, when th5 tempera-
ture fell one degree after rain; even this is
an advantage to land that is already dry
and parched up.
To Prevent Birds from Pulling Up
Corn.
A correspondent of an exchange gives
the following as sure means of accom-
plishing the above desideratum:
Gas soon as the terminating corn in the
planted field makes its appearance, SOW
corn all round the borders of the field.
After few days, walk around the lot; if
you find the corn pretty nearly all picked
up, SOW again. Two applications are suf-
ficient, and will last the birds until the
growing corn is too strong for them. About
a peck al time will answer for a field of
eight or ten acres, unless the birds should
be unusually numerous. Timely observa-