Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1874-02-06
Watering Cattle in Winter.

Next to warm shelter and good feed,
the proper watering of cattle should be
attended to. No farm animals will do
well If only watered once day. 1t Is
true that animals which are driven to
some frozen pond and watered through
holes cut in the ice will seldom in cold
weather drink more than once day, for
the simple reason that they must be suf.
fering from thirst to be induced to drink
at all but this does not, by any means,
prove the economy of this system Of wa
tering, but rather the reverse. To prove
It, let the stock owner himself get down
and drink this thoroughly-chilled water.
The evidence of danger to the system
will be apparent. r.....
If there are but few animals to be wa
tered, it is but little labor to do the work,
since the water for dozen or twenty cat
tie can be pumped in about the time the
cattle will drink 1t. If large herd be
kept, a simple windmill, pumping into
an underground cistern placed upon an
eminence and connecting by means of un-
derground pipes with the trough in the
yard at a less elevation, will suffice to
supply any number of cattle and other
stock. The outlay other than the first
expense, will be but small. If this be
impracticable, a tank may be built of suf
ficient elevation, and enclosed so that it
will work day and night, Winter and
Summer, when the wind blows, land when
does it not in the West p and will repay
its cost, every year, where considerable
herd is to be watered.
For years, we had such mill that fur
nished water from fifty feet well, which
ta1 ha tn
twelve horses and ten cows, besides fur.
nishing water for the greenhouse and hot
beds of over 900 sashes, which latter alone,
in the Spring, used to require the work of
one man with hose to water We simp-
ly state this to show the amount of water
a good sized mill will pump.
The great advantage of this system of
watering Is, that the water may be carried
in common iron gas pipes whenever you
want, and the writer is never thoroughly
chilled, so as to distress stock in drinking.
; Consequently they take Il Just when they
! want it, and usually in small quantities at
time. They are thereby saved the ague
I chill that usually occurs after the period.
/ ical filing up under the system as prac-
ticed by too many of our farmers. There
is no doubt that, with proper watering
and warm shelter in winter, all farm
animals would come out from twenty-five
to fifty per cent. better than they now do.
We have proved this proposition to ouI
perfect satisfaction by experience in fat
tening cattle. The proposition will hold
4 good with other stock. twill pay to- give
farm stOck-first, warm shelter; second
plenty of good forage; and third, but mo-
least, water to drink at will, certainly
twice day, and then never chilled to the
freezing point
Our Correspondent, &c. W. L." of Della
ware, Iowa, sends US valuable hint will
respect to the watering of cattle in winter
He says "Many farmers water their stool
from wells, and in the winter-time they
experience considerable difficulty by tn
accumulation of ice around the trough
Many times cattle, even though very dry
will go away without drinking rather thai
venture on such slippery place to ge
water. | have very simple and cheal
remedy: Take an armful or two of straw
scatter it over the ice, and sprinkle owe
it some water, which soon freezes fast
and the remedy is complete. Wester
Rural