Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1883-10-24
Raise Good Horses.

That may yin the golden crown
Western Rural.
Raise Good Horses.
Henry Wallace, in the Western Farm
Journal, says: cit is time for our
farmers to understand that the::days of the
small horses are over, except to drive to
town and for light livery work. They
can not afford either to raise them or to
own them. If they will observe careful
ly they will discover that it costs no
more to keep colt two years than a
calf, and that during these years on
stock keep, the colt will increase in value
great deal faster than the calf.
"We do not advise farmers to 90 al
together into horse farming or into any
! other specially. But along with the
calves and pigs, raise a few good.
large colts. It is unsafe to devote a
farm to any one kindo Of stock. The true
| wisdom is to raise some of each, but
whatever you do, raise the best. We
have learned from experience that corn
is never so cheap or grass so plenty that
it will pay to put either into scrub cat
tie, scrub hogs or scrub horses. And
the man who does it when he can help it
will soon be rated as scrub farmer"
Cattle Raising.
Much interest has properly been felt
in the development of the western cat
tie trade by the purchase of ranches and
large lots If cattle by capitalists of the
eastern states and Europe. In connec-
ton with this, and partly in consequence
of it, there is an important change go
ing on in the mode Of management of
the cattle, change that will ultimately
be of great benefit. In many parts of
the west the day of allowing the herds
Of cattle to Craze on government land is
coming to be thing of the past. Large
tracts are not only purchased, but are
being inc'osed with wire fences, and an
approach is made to the system of graz
ing on the large farms of more thlckly
settled states. The days of great round
ups and of the half-civilized "cow-
boy" are numbered in extensive re-
gions in which they were lately dis
tinctive features. Naturally, the own
ership of the land and the enclosing it
will make efforts to improve the charac-
ter Of the stock more effective. It will
be more common to provide hay for
use n winter, when needed. Improved
bulls Can be purchased with more GER
tainty of getting full return; and, in
many cases, a much better stock of
COWS and heifers are bought for these
inclosed ranches than it was counted
wise to place on the open ranges. Large
portions OF Kansas, Nebraska and Tex
as, which were open range few years
ago, are now mainly inclosed, and the
process is being rapidly continued
Breeders Gazette.
Quick-GrOWing Trees for Fuel.
Many persons located on prairie farms
plant hickory, walnut, hard maple and
white oak trees with the expectation of
providing fuel to use in q near future.
Unless they reach very old age, the
prospectof their ever sitting round fires
built of wood obtained from trees of
their own planting is very poor. The
trees spoken Of produce excellent wood
for fuel, ard it is advisable to plant
them if one designs to produce fuel for
another generation. The trees grow
very slowly, however, even when the
soil aud location are we'll adapted to
oAOAAs 1AuuAAU0AuB OAoV GA0 WOONOA OAcS0
trees is worth twice a. much as that of
trees that make rapid growth, it is adj
visable after all to plant the latter. Few
people are aware of the great difference
in the increase of size of the hard and
softwood trees. If they would set
hard maple and gray willow within a
few rods of each other they would in
few years find the latter fully twenty
times larger than the former. No varl-
ETY. of willow furnishes wood of very
good quality, but several of them pro-
duce large amount in very short
time. The trees are propagated from
roots or cuttings and require little care.
Willows commence to grow in the spring
before tbs frost has left the ground, and
they continue to grow long after most
kinds of trees have dropped their leaves.
The wood has few advantages. It is
easy to cut, seasons quickly and kindles
readily. It makes a fair fuel for cook
ing purposes. 1t also makes good char
coal, which is excellent for light fuel as
we'll as for many other domestic pur-
poses.
ClOYer rs a Means Of Increastng the