The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1884-12-04
OUR RURAL TOPICS.
Some Practical f. Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers.
~
LUCK IoN TIE FARM.

pensation of Providence, that a certain farmer
received 500 per head for the yearly product of
his cows, while his next door neighbor received
only $50 per head $50 it is not special act
of Providence remarks Mr.. Henry Stewart
"that on one side of the fence the corn yields 80
bushels per acre and the nay three tons, while
on the other side the products are 80 bushels of
corn and barely tor of hay" An enterprising
| farmer writes that he is cutting his second crop
of clover, which yields full ton per acre, and
his neighbors wends r how it is. The secret is
that this farmer },sed plaster on his clover
which made all the difference; and his other
crops are equally conspicuous and remarkable
because he uses fertilizers literally as well as
manure. The rain falls Oh all alike. but the
better farmer gets the most good from the rain
and the sun because he prepares and enriches
the ground better, and so gives the natural
elements better chances to exert their benign
inhuence.-Raral Ne,r- Yorker
THE VALUE OF SHEEP.
The feeding of sheep may be made very
profitable as Winter farm work. The Winter
harvest consists of using up the products of the
| Summer harvest in such way as to dispose of
them at profit, and make an additional profit
on the labor spent in the disposal Of it, A farm
should be q mandatory for the working up
of raw material thrown upon it into finished
products. This gives the double profit of a
double business. 1t Utilities proftably the
| leisure or idle time of a season in which no
other work can be done, and gives an oppor-
| tunity of using extra capital to advantage. To
| feed the farm products and make beef butter
mutton, wool or pork is the most rational man
ner of disposing of Them and of all the differ
emit farm animals which may be fed advantage
ously in this way sheep offer the best return
They can be purchased at a small expense; the
cost of lodging thee, is small; they are not at
all dainty or particular to their feed; they
exact but moderate labor and attention i'll feed
| ing and care; they can be disposed Of readily,
and they leave behind them the most valuable
kind of manure, returning in this shape practi-
cally every cent of the value of the feed
NeU York Times
| SPREAD DIRECT FROM STABLE.
Dr. H. p Armsby, of the Wisconsin Expert
ment Station, favors hauling and spreading
manure at once, rather than heaping it at barn or
| in field, with the single exception of hillsides
where, to avoid washing of plant to low
| lands or into streams it is best put On as short
a time as practicable before blowing under.
So far as the other objections commonly urged
against the practice apply to level surface he
/ says: 1.-The less OF manure by teaching through
| the soil will be very small usually, because all
| respectfully good soils have the power of taking
| up the valuable matters out of their solution
in water, and retaining them ready to feed
crops. Only on the lightest lands is there rea-
son to fear any great loss in this way. The
only valuable part of the manure which can be
converted into gas is its nitrogen, which may
escape as ammonia. The extent of this loss
has usually been Ovcrrated. Stable manure
contains but small proportion of nitrogen,
and a still smaller proportion of this is capable
of being quickly converted into ammonia and
given off as gas. Moreover, the organic mat
ter of stable manure. its humus, has a consid-
erabe power of retaining ammonia when it is
formed, and, finally, the conditions in the field
| are not favorable to the formation and escape
of ammonia. The manure is too scattered to
get up the heat necessary to vigorous chemi-
cal action, and It's nitrogen is more likely to be
changed to nitrates and dissolved out by the
| rain. Even If ammonia is formed however, it
will not escape into the air unless the manure
becomes pretty thoroughly dried out"
PRACTICAL STOCK BREEDING.
A scrub heifer bred to a thoroughbred bull
for her first calf. and then repeatedly bred to
the same bull, will improve in her breedings
so that each succeeding calf will be better than
the preceding one and this to a greater extent
than if she had been bred to different bulls,
though all equally good and of the same blood.
This rule holds good with horses and sheep as
well as cattle. Stick pin right here. If you
are breeding cattle SET god bull and keep
him. If you conclude to breed Durh?ms, do so
if Holsteins or any other breed, do so; but
don't breed to a Durham bull one year and
Holstein the next. You must stick to the one
thing if you expect to breed good grades of
either. And more than this, cow that has
once been bred to scrub bull, if bred promis-
cuously to different bulls, even of the same
Breed will never produce as good calves as she
would if bred several times in succession to the
same individual bull. The man who has good
heifers, high grades or thoroughbred, and does
not want to raise their first calves, and who
uses a scrub bull because it is cheaper, is saw
ing pennies to-day at the expense OF dollars in
the near future. Use nothing but thorough
bred males on all kinds of stock, and all things
being equal, the longer you use the same ami
NAL the better. do not mean by this that it
is advisable to use him on his own progeny,
but on the original animals it may be coutin-
ued indefnitely.-Er.
FATTENING GEESE.
Geese, like other fowls, by proper manage
ment, may be easily fattened but it is well
known that unless they are killed and put into
market at their latest period they do not long
hold flesh, and rapidly become lean. The
| French method in iattening these fowls con-
sists in plucking the feathers from the belly,
in giving them abundance Of food and drink,
and in coping them up more closely than is
practiced with common fowls; cleanliness and
quietude being above all things indispensable.
The best time to begin iattening is in the
month of November, or as soon rs cold weather
has fairly set in; if it is longer delayed, tho
pairing season begins, and prevents them from
becoming fat. II you have not too many geese
to fatten, "a good way is to put them into a
casll with holes bored in it, through which
| they can thrust their heads to feed, and, being
naturally voracious, their love of food is greater
than their desire for liberty, so that they fat
ten very rapidly. BY this method, and fed on
a mash made Of buckwheat, barley, or Indian
meal, with milk and boiled potatoes, they can
be made ready for market liz from three to four
weeks.-P,arie Farmer.
NoTELETs.
- Bran mash once or twice week will be
greatly reished by your horses, and it will do
them much good 1t ischeap, easily prepared
and should be frequently used in every stable
i Poultry houses should be SO cleaned that
when entering them at night not the slightest
odor should be detected
- In selecting q dairy COW pay some atten-
ton to the size of the Iader and teats. Very
small teats cannot be easily grasped. A good
mich COW has deep TANKS, velvety skin, and
the milk veins prominent.
1t is conceded fact that the farmer is
most prosperous when he combines with his
farming the manufacture of pork and beef
The corn, grass, hay and fodder are his raw
materially the pork, beef and wool his finished
product. 'H+
The best milkers are not beeffat, nor