News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1885-05-28
FARM AND GARDEN.
REASONABLE NOTES ABOUT WORK
ON THE FARM.

sEAsONABLE NOTES ABOUT WORK
ON THE FARM.
How to Build Concrete silo-Concern-
ing Sheep in SPRING.
SHEEP IN SPRING. Mr.. Henry Lane,
an expert in strengthening, eommuni-
Gates, through the Mirror, timely and
useful points in his long practice: .'To
provide against ewes disowning theft
lambs it is necessary to have few pens
about four feet square to place each eve
and lamb in soon after the lamb drops.
In most cases it will be only necessary
to keep them from the flock one or two
DAYS: / dislike to take chilled lambs
to q warm room at the house; better
way is to have two free-stones one foot
square and two inches thick. Provide
a case of thin wood, the sides filled with
half-inch holes to let the heat escape.
By having two stones you have one
warm and ready for use. Place the
stone thus encased in the bottom of a
basket or box, with blanket or little
straw covering; lay the chilled lamb
upon it and cover up; when the lamb
revives, get little milk down, but not
to remove him until thoroughly warm
and dry. When lamb is SO thoroughly
chilled that you can hardly discern if
life remains, plunge him into quite
warm water, holding the head up.
When revived, rub dry, then place on
the free-stone. I like to get little
milk down as soon as possible. When
they have once taken milk to their salts
ell
ten hours. II warm, don't disturb
them; they are all right and will wake
up when food is required. If the dam
has not milk ready for her newborn
lamb, it is better to give its first meal
from another eve that can spare the
milk than resort to milk from a new
mich COW; never feed milk from far
row COW; unless there is some unnatural
cause the dam will in two or three days,
have supply of milk. If a eve gives
large flow of milk, her offspring at first
may take it only on one side; this must
be looked after or the eve will lose her
bag. Ewes require but little extra feed
the first two or three weeks of sucking,
but when lambs require more milk, in
crease the feed gradually. When lambs
have reached sufficient age to eat meat
or hay, provide for them place to go
by themselves where they will be un-
molested by their mother. In this way
they are kept out of the racks and off
the fodder. Lambs should never be
allowed to run in the feed racks to wet
and track the feed. The best food for
ewes to produce milk is oats, peas, bran
and corn with roots. The feed should
be increased gradually as the lambs re-
ouire more milk. Ewes of good age
and good flesh will not require heavy
feed to grow lambs until pasturing is
good. It is not usual or necessary to
feed grain after grass is good, and, for
this reason, an excess to produce a
large flow of milk before the flock goes
to pasture will in the end be an injury.
Milk should be increased instead of
shrinking after the eve goes to pasture.
How TO BUILD CONCRETE SILo.-
Following are directions for building a
concrete siIo, furnished by Mr.. W. W.
Merriam, of New York, for the Ensilage
Congress, as incorporated in Secretary
Browns report: Rosendale cement
may be used with the most satisfactory
results. 1t is important that the cement
be freshly made and mixed only in small
quantities, and then used at once, after
the water is applied. The mixing of
concrete should be done as follows To
one part of dry cement put three, four
or five parts of coarse sand and gravel /;
these should have no mud or earth
mixed with them. The sharper the
sand the better the mixture the gravel
may vary in size to pound weight.
The finer the sand and gravel the
hi ~, to
cement, gravel and sand in dry state
by shoyelling them over and over until
the former is scarcely to be seen then
apply the water in small quantities, as
the mixture is wanted. An hour or two
will often cause the cement to set, after
which it is of little value. To make q
concrete wall If below the ground, the |
earth or bank may be used for one side
support on the other or inside set
posts six to eight feet apart clear around
the cellar, one and one-half inches
further in than the inner side of the
wall is intended to be; let these posts
run a foot higher than the wall is to be
made, and carefully braced from the in
side. One and one-half inch planks set
on edge are placed on the wall side,
resting against the posts, forming box,
with the earth. The concrete is then
mixed and this space filled in clear
around the cellar; then other planks
are placed above those first set and the
concrete filled in as before. If sufficient
time has elapsed from the start to allow
the first batch to harden, the planks
may be raised up the thickness of the
first plank and filled in as before, and
so on to the top. Great care should be
taken that the concrete shall have
hardened as you leave it exposed, or
your wall may be in the cellar bottom
before you know it. This is kind of
work that can't be driven. Much de-
ponds on the kind of weather as to pro-
gress made. Wet weather will not |
answer dry is the only kind. If the |
wall is to be built above ground, then |
posts and planks must be placed both |
sides and thoroughly braced from the
several outsides. If the wall is to be |
fifteen to twenty feet high, it will be |
safest to leave row of planks every four
or five feet, which need to be moved up
Or down their thickness every three or
four days this is to permit the wall to
dry where planks cover. First and last,
and all the time: The mind of the |
builder needs to be on his business, that
the mixture does not stand too long and
set before use, and that the planks are
not lifted before the mortar stiffens. and
finally. that the wall get we'll hardened
before the posts and plank supports are
removed. Twenty to thirty days are
'afer than less. If rain falls during the
work, the wall should be thoroughly
covered. When the supports are re-
moved and the silo completed, then the
mason will need to make mortar of
cement and good sharp sand, and plaster
he Inside that the walls may be smooth
md plumb"