St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-08-14
Lessons of the Drouth.

Written for the Globe.
One lesson which, t is to be hoped our
farmers will learn from the recent severe
and long continued dry weather, is so to
order their fodder crops and water supply
as to be practically independent of such
visitations.. Without. the severe experience
of the past two months. many of our most
intelligent farmers had begun to recognize
the fact that their ordinary grass pastures
were either becoming exhausted, or failed
to supply the proper kind OF food for
mich cows and young cattle. AS
a deficiency of water fit to
drink is more fatal 10 stock than scarcity
of food. we shall first deal with this ques
tion. Every farmer who can afford $40
should have windmill to work pump in
out after Il months drouth. Farmers are
themselves much to blame in this regard,
| as when sinking well they stop quite sat
| istied the moment water is found, instead
of continuing the work till a depth has
been reached such as to afford All unfaiIing
source of water for all time.
In addition to a windmill, a capaciouS
cistern or tank should be provided and
| the water reserved for use when other sup
| plies fail. or in case of an emergency. 1t
is too often the habit with farmers to say
| if the well becomes exhausted we can
drive the cattle to the lake or river, which
cannot be at every mans door. Then, con-
| slider if it be only mile to the nearest
water, how much time will be taken from
somebody's most valuable service.
! Our ordinary pastures are, as a rule,
! quite insufficient to afford proper feeding
for cows throughout the summer. When
| the heritage becomes ripe it ceases to be a
milk producing food to any great extent
and naturally becomes distasteful to cows.
| What cows need is an abundance of sue
culent palatable food; and change, even
from one sort of fodder to another equally
good. is always in the interests of the
dairyman. In our climate. when grass is
closely cropped, the pasture does not
quickly recover, requiring a complete re-
spite from your stock as well as some
favoring showers. Our farmers must
grow green fodder crops for summer feed
| ing. Corn, oats, millet and peas are
amongst the best fodder crops to grow in
Northern America. Millet may be sown
early in July, and after six weeks growth
it is fit for feeding; on rich soil it grows
! freely, yielding upwards of ten tons of
green fodder per acre. 1t is an excellent
milk producer; a peck of seed which costs
about SO cents, is sufficient to SOW an acre.
Millet will not stand frost, and proper
forethought and management must be
used SO that it shall all be utilized before
the first frost is liable to come. After
millet the jucicious farmer will have sup
ply of rutabagaS for his general herd in adj
dition to hay, and for his cows beets and
mangels. With an abundant supply of
good water and these fodder crops butter
making may be continued without loss OF
decrease by heat or drOuth until the winter
actually begins. Again, another advant-
age of properly attending to the wants
| of your cows and cattle is this,
that there will be very much
less sickness in your herd, and
should sickness attack the herd they would
be in very much better state to repel an
attack when they have been fed upon
wholesome and nutritious food.
Sickness among cattle in the fall is refer
able in many cases to the insufficient and
lnnutritious food of the latter
part of the previous summer.
II farmers will only have the courage to
make start out of the old groove, and
provide green fodder in the fall and roots in
winter for their stock, they will find theil
profits largely increased. And while
their neighbors of the old style,
have lean cattle and unhealthy cows, those
who follow this new departure will have
both healthy cows and wholesome beef
l know that many of my farmer friends
will shake their heads at the suggestion OF
| feeding green fodder to cattle in summer
and roots in winter. These belong to the
water-and-hay-band school, and probably
will only be convinced of the soundness OF
the above system, when they find that those