The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1881-01-14
Hints ON Feeding Stock In Winter.

A young farmer makes the following excel
lent suggestions in the Boston journal:
Having tried the raising of beef, and pro-
ducing of milk and butter upon various
FARMS have found certain points important
in all cases, while minor details vary.
Never place large amount of coarse fod
der before an animal at one time Divide
each feeding into two or three feelings, but
make it continuous; that is, as fast as they
can clean up what is before them, give lit
tie more, until you think they have eaten
enough for one time; then clean the Manager
and, if you do not turn them out, allow them
to stand until the hour for the next feeding
with nothing before them.
Have regular hours for giving them food
and vary from it as little as possible. Do
not fall into the habit of giving little every
time you go to the stable, and especialyavoid
the mistaken kindness of those who go out
and give last foddering just before they go
to bed at night. Go to the barn then, if you
will see that all is snug for the night, but do
not offer any food then. Remember that the
night was not made for eating, but for Sleep
ing, and unless absolutely necessaryssdo not
feed at unreasonable hours of evening or
morning.
Apply these rules to all stock, whether
horses, oxen, sheep or swine, as well as to the
mich cows. See that the stables are well
lighted, well ventilated and for all excepting
the sheep, warm enough so that water will
not no freeze in them upon the coolest day
Sheep bear cold weather well, and require so
much ventilation that it is difficult to main
tain the temperature above freezing without
having the air impure and unwholeome.
See also that they have dry and soft bed
upon which to sleep. Plenty of bedding is
as important to the animals under your care
as to yourself, and q comfortable nights rest
is as necessary to their thrift as il is to your
health.
Study the quality of food that you have
and if it is not such as is adapted to the pro.
duct you desire, improve it by the addition
of other materials as will supply the elements
lacking in what you have. That is to say, if
you are producing milk, without regard to
quality, and you have hay of poor quality
such as you cut from low lands, or that
which was over ripe when cut you must
add to it roots, grain, wheat bran or other
producing food Ifyou desire butter,
use richer grain, good corn meal or cotton
seed meal. The latter is apt to make butter
little oily, if fed with good hay, or with
grass, but may be used with poor hay or straw
or may be mixed with an equal or greater
quantity of wheat bran. In winter, its effects
would not be noticeable, unless to the critical
eye of some one who was looking for strictly
tirst-class article of gilt-edged butter.
The same grain and in larger quantity may
be used in fattening stock, if such may be
your business. Roots are not of much value
for fattening purposes, when fed alone, unless
large amounts are fed; but few of them
given daily when feeding grain will often
largely increase the fattening quality of the
grain, probably by increasing the digestive
powers of the animal. Perhaps this is even
more noticeable with sheep than with cattle.
No ,;,,1, l,.l, 90 |,
almost necessity to the successful keeping
of sheep, whether the principal object may be
wool, lambs or mutton, or whether either and
all are thankfully received.
Not less important than the food is the
necessity of plenty of water, and pure water
and that it should be of such temperature
that it may be drank without unduly chilling
the animal Little seems to be thought oft his
matter by many farmers and many who are
willing to acknowledge the loss which neces-
sarly follows from cattle todrink ice water and
to stand exposed to cold drafts while drinking
or waiting their turn at the trough, yet think
theirpoyerty compels them to continue the old
custom rather than to incur the cost ofsuch ar
engagements as would be.needed for supplying
n comfortable degree ofwamth.
Sheep poorly kept and poorly cared for in
winter can only yield poor lambs in spring
and poor shearing of WOOL and more than
that, a little neglect in bad weather during
the winter will show itself by poor place in
the wool. The Irshman who fed his hogs n
hearty meal one day and let them go without
food the next, that his pork might have"a
streak of fat and streak of lear" might have
taken his idea from the wool taken from sheep
that had Il lean week or two while the wool
was growing. If any armer doubts this let
him examine a few locks of wool under
microscope from sheep which he knows
had poor picking at some time while it was
growing, and he will find correspondingly
poor place in the staple of the WOOL