The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1880-04-23

he likes them; and by hisimproved looks
that they are healthy, and nature has
given q suitable nose, If it hasn't wire
ring in them to root for them.
As to the second inquiry Gas to their
cheapness and certainty, &c. Col. Scott
says that he produced 900 bushels per
acre, and has no doubt but that under
the most favorable circumstances from
1900 to 1000 bushels can be produced
per acre. Under the most unfavorable
conditions the writer produced 600 BUSH
els per acre. The land was old and
worn out-was very foul, and the latter
part of the season was too dry. The
evidence from number Of practical pro-
ducers substantially agrees with the
above. So, by feeding artichokes hogs
can be sold at one cent per pound and
have the same profit. But what l wish
to say to farmers, as practical and advis-
able, is that corn is good and artichokes
are good, and to meet the safest and best
conditions in this matter is to raise less
corn, and more grasses and artichokes.
Practical demonstration shows that arti-
chokes for stock food are in their natural
state about equal in value to potatoes in
prepared state, and that two bushels of
potatoes or artichokes are about equal to
one bushel of corn. From 400 to ], $50
bushels of artichokes can be raised from
one acre as easily and certainly as from
40 to 100 bushels of corn from the same
ground, thus giving artichokes q five
fold advantage over corn.
How 20 Feed Pigs.
A Canadian correspondent of the Berk-
shire Bulletin writes: "We often hear
complaints of very opposite character
from those who start to rear Berkshire
swine; one is, that they get too fat, and
are tender, and often die, and also that
they are no better than any other hog,
for they don't look any better on the
same kind of feed, and are not bit fat
ter. Two instances showing these ex-
tremes have come under my notice. One
man fed his young pigs from about
month old on nearly pure pea meal and
milk. They got fat, then ceased to grow,
then went lame on all tours, fairly foun-
dered, and forever spoilt. The other
party turned pair of fine thrifty young
pigs in among some thirty wretched
scrubs of mongrels, and he, too, fed them
peas, but in such small quantity that
they were reduced to skeletons, for they
would not fight for their small share with
their coarser and more vicious brethren,
and then this man said they were no
better than common. By following a
few simple hygienic rules, the Berkshire
can be raised as easily, and in as healthy
a condition as any other pig.
Never feed the young pigs on strong,
concentrated food, such as ground corn,
peas, or other grain, alone. Give milk
Gf obtainable) or water, with equal pro-
portions of bran, shorts, and boiled
potatoes, or other roots or vegetables; if
the bran and shorts can be scalded, 80
much the better. If you must feed peas
or cornmeal, mix it sparingly with the
vegetable diet until the pig is four
months old at least, when the grain may
be increased. But all through the pigs
life give him plenty of good roots, boiled
or raw. In short, feed the pig gener-
ously, but not to excess, with q good
pure mixed diet, and there will be neither
sickness nor want of fertility.