Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-10-13
Agricultural.
Breeding, Feeding and Management
of Farm Stock.
ny j. 5. Anderson OF shcIDurnc, Mass.

this country now than at any former period.
This is evidence of a spirit of progress in the
art Of husbandry. Said Daniel Webster "0ur
national prosperity depends upon an enlight-
ened agriculture" Let us for few moments
consider how to manage our farm stock.
Progress is plant Of slow growth, but when
once the mind is directed towards it we have
much expectation of good results. The inn
| portance of raising better grade Of stock is
evident to every intelligent farmer, for the in
creasing demand for American meats for ex-
| portation, and the fact that none but first
| quality will be accepted, must be convincing
to every grower of stock. There are but few
minds so well balanced that several different
objects can be aimed at with equal interest at
the same time we should therefore endeavor
to excel in only one of three things-in the
raising of horses, cattle or sheep.
Most of the writers on stook-breeding are
not practical breeders. They very plausibly
tell us how nice stock can be raised, but pre-
fer to 20 directly to the breeder and learn how
he has raised the best stock. The most dis
tinguished stock breeders are wonderfully ret
cent We know but little of the modus ope-
randi of such breeders as Bakewel Colling,
Bates Booth and Townley in England, and
Thorne, Alexander and Sheldon in this coun-
try.
Which is the best breed for us to raise
The best breed is the one best adapted to the
circumstances, the tastes, the locality and the
wants of the breeder, and in making selec-
tons all these things must be taken into ac-
count. 1t is q matter that requires study and
experience, and the most successful farmers
under given circumstances are those whose
example should be followed.
The cheapest, quickest, and in a large ma
iority of cases the best, way by which a far
mer of comparatively limited means can i'm
prove his stock is by the persistent use of the
best males he can obtain. In most cases he
will find it best to secure fullblcod animals
of the breed which most nearly corresponds
to his ideal. Mate these with the best female
he has or can readily obtain, and continue the
use of equally good and well-bred sires on the
female progeny for the successive crosses.
One of the most common failures in attempts
to improve the stock of the country comes
from resting satisfied with the results of one
or two crosses, or else thinking a change of
plan and the introduction of some other blood
will give better results l believe a mixed
stock to be the most profitable to the farmer.
Two or three ewes as II startng-point will en-
able one to build up very large flock in ten
years; and so the progeny of a COW, in a doz
en- years, unless she should prove persistent
| bull breeder, might form herd of forty or
| fifty females of various ages A catalogue has
recently been printed in England of a Short
horn herd descended from one COW that has
had 11G female descendants in 30 years. 1t is
not yet 45 years since the time of the Short
horn COW Young Mary, by Jupiter (2l7O). vet
her direct descendants must now number
many hundreds OF course it is not often
that SO prolific a COW is obtained, as she was
! the dam Of II heifers and one bull Looking
! forward ten, twenty or twenty five years seems
| long time to young farmer; but he expects
to live and farm that long, and to keep stock
of some kind, and 10y a little additional ex-
pense, care and skill in selection and manag-
ment he can be steadily improving his stock
and also securing animals which will sell for
more money and give better profit. In this,
as in many other things, the two most impor-
tant elements of success are to start right and
| then stick to it.
Many opinions have been given in regard
to feeding and management of farm stock
but few ideas have been suggested. What
We want, brother farmers is the practical side
of the question. We stock our pastures in
the spring with what they will carry and fat
ten; there is nothing gained by over stocking
them. We never feed so but what our cattle
can get their own breakfast and supper in
three hours-and if in good feed cattle eat
but two meals day. Cattle, to thrive, must
be full; if they are always found hollow, they
are not thriving. We salt our cattle once a
| week, which is none too often. They will eat
about one heaping handful week on an ave-
rage through the year. We salt on the ground.
not liking troughs in pastures They are al
ways placed on the side nearest the house and
in nine cases out of ten the man who salts
the cattle does not see them at all-knows not
whether they are all there, or whether they
are sick or well. Cattle and sheep managed
in that way will almost always be wild. We
aim to see every creature on our farm once a
week. We pile all stones in the pasture caus-
ing two spears of grass to grow where only
one grew before. We cut all kinds Of weeds
and brush in our pastures, August being with
us the best time to do this. We pulverize ma
nure and scatter it in our pastures labor is
never lost on the pasture. We never feed our
mowings one ton fed off in the fall will les
sen the next years crop at least two tons. We
think 1t costs no more to winter cattle if they
are placed in the barn the first of November,
than if they are kept in pasture two or three
weeks longer. 1t costs much more to winter
a poor animal than one in good condition {;
more TO winter an old COW than a young one ;
more to winter an old sheep than a young
one. We always calculate to have our cattle
gain as much in winter as in summer The
practice of feeding stock from the top of the
NOW till the poor hay is all gone is wrong
Hay fed in this way will winter less stock, and
at the same time winter them poorer. We
| Sut Jul nay III htuCueb, MAKING SIX ke0cleB
| to bent, l2xlS feet, and by SO doing keep
but small surface exposed at one time TO the
air which dries the hay and makes it unpal-
stable. A NOV fed in this way will winter
more stock, and winter them better too. Cat
tie need better care the first of winter than the
last; therefore, if you pinch anywhere. take
the last rather than the first of winter. But
| don't pinch at all. Keep only what you can
keep well. Some q years ago my uncle made
an estimate of our sales of stock of Northum-
berland blood during period of ten years.
| and it averaged 500 an animal their ages
ranging from six months to four years-most
of them under three years. Under the reign
| Of Roam Duke we sold seven bull calves, six
months to one year old, for $3.50. The prices
of the steers and heifers during this period
| averaged $40 a head, most of them being
from one TO two years old
Cattle will do better if fed about light. We
commence to feed about L. NJ, and keep
them eating until $500 when we begin to wa
ter. Always water before they commence to
chew the cud, they will not drink SO well
afterwards. We keep them eating till the last
are watered We water in pairs, always keep
| ing watch to see that all drink. 1t takes one
hour to water 80 head. After watering in the
| morning, we let them rest till 2P NJ We
! keep our cattle in the barn most of the time
! Cattle should be fed and watered at the same
time every day. You feel better when your
have your meals regularly, and it is the same
| with your stock.
When we feed roots, We feed them the last
thing at night Turnips are good for stock,
! but potatoes are better. We always 90 to the
barn with light and look around before GO
| ing to bed. If the cattle are all right then,
they will generally be so in the morning. We
feed meal the first thing in the morning and
first in the afternoon, when we fatten cattle
| We feed our cows meal but once a day, and
never over two quarts apiece. Do not think
it pays to feed cows very high if you would
have them last. We let our COWS 20 dry three
months, which time they need to recruit