The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1886-04-09
sHEEP.husRANnRx.
A System which Would work Revolution
ON Poor FnPma.

SHEEP.HUSBANpRY.
A System which would Work . Revolutio,
ON Poor Farms.
Farmers have not sufficiently studiet
the importance Of maintaining the fer
tility of their farms. Much land in tn,
New England States has been worke,
to point where. under common cult
ure. the production is below cost o
labor. Many such farms have beer
abandoned. This has often occurred il
cotton districts of the South, and thu
land has been suffered to return to 9
state of nature.
Stock-farming is the only system
properly adapted to the reclamation oi
these lands, and the system adopted
must be the intelligent one that makes
provision for the complete saving and
; distribution of the drOppings of the ami.
mails. As stock husbandry is still gen.
orally carried on. only the smaller pro-
portion of the fertilizing matter is saved
and applied.
Sheep are peculiarly adapted to keep
ing up the fertility of the soil they are
fed on. The dairy COW carries off in
her milk much larger proportion of
the fertilizing matter of her food than
the sheep in growing Hutton and wool.
1t has been proved by careful expert
ment that the sheep may return to the
soil ninety-five per cent of the fertiliz-
ing matter Of its food. This renders
the sheep one of the best agencies for
improving the soil.
If we take an impoverished soil in
hand for Improvement, we must ex-
pect to add something to it to improve
it. Something does not come from
nothing. If we simply feed any animal
upon what grows on the land, we do
not addRny thing to the soil. but we
take something from it. How. then.
shall we improve the soil by feeding
sheep upon it without mourning large
expense? This is the question to DO
answered, aud it is easily answered.
If the sheep will return ninety-five per
cent. of the fertilizing matter of its food
to the soil. carrying off only five per
cent. then if We feed sheep one ton of
linseed-meal. ninety-five per cent, of its
nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid
will be left in the soil. This would be
112 lbs. of nitrogen, 50 lbs. of potash,
and 40 lbs. of phosphOric acid which
estimated at the price of commercial
fertilizers, would be worth S26; but we
will deduct little over 20 per cent.
and call the fertiliziting matter of the
ton of linseed meal worth $50. This
meal should be purchased ut S25 per ton
and when properly fed to sheep it will paw
all it costs in growing mutton and
wool, and the manure will be all profit.
The manure from ton of decorticated
cottoD-seed meal is worth S25; of wheat
bran, Sl4; of oats, 80; of corn, Sc; of
the best clover hay, 80; of timothy,
$3.50; of peas, Sl4. Wheat bran is
very rich in phosphoric acid. which
renders it one of the best foods to grow
the bones of the young animal. For
feeding sheep in summer, linseed meal
and bran, and. when not too dear, oats
are most excellent. They are what may
be called cooling foods, and will pro-
duce the best result, and the manure
from the first two is most valuable.
For winter feeding, corn is an economi-
cal food. 1t will be seen that on worm
out lands liberal feeding of sheep would
soon render them fertile.
The system should be to let the sheep |
pasture on the grasses and weeds pro- |
duced upon the land. and then concen-
frate the feeding of rich foods upon a |
small space. using these MANFRED pieces |
to raise fodder for the sheep in winter.
Each year would fertilize few acres fit
to bear almost any crop. The surface
Of these pieces, fed most upon, should
be worked mellow, and the manure
mixed with the soil, to prevent waste of
elements. II this system of |
were conducted in the best
manner, the sheep should be confined
by hurdles; the 70 ling hurdles would be
best, moving them along each day as
last as the ground is MANFRED, giving
fresh earth to the sheep. and top-dress-
ng n definite amount of soil each day.
This would be best accomplished if tho
piece of land to be fed over had green
,rOp upon it, having feeding trOughs at
he advancing hurdles in which should be
placed the linseed-meal and bran, the
heep eating the green crop as fast as
hey moved over it, and making up q
ull ration from the troughs. We have
lsed this plan. with great satisfaction.
or fertilizing land which would already
rear good crop of clover, millet or
ye.
Mutton sheep are better adapted to
his system, as it is one of the most ex-
ways to fatten sheep in sum-
ner, and involves about as little labor
8 any other plan we have ever tried.
his plan works well in fattening ewes
fter bearing early lambs. We believe
he poorest farms in New England could
e very cheaply re-fertilized on this
ystem. and made more valuable than
hey have ever been in the past; and tho
mutton and wool produced, is wanted in
ne nearest town. Such a system, car
led out. would soon work complete
evolution in farming and its profits
National Lire-StOck journal.
A Dogs Memory.
Last summer dog owned by gen. ;
eman in New JERSEY broke his leg. A ,