The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1886-08-13

shall be as complete as the strain O
blood he is developing. The import
ance of skillful feeding has always beer
most apparent to those who give it an,
attention. Was the success of the Col
lings wholly dependent on the strain O
blood they bredp or, was it not rather
their skill in developing it in the mos
symmetrical bovine form that gave the
strain OF blood celebrity? zoe might a.
well say that it was the marble, ano
not the immortal genius and skillfu
hand Of Proxitiles, that wrought out tn,
enchanting form of Apheodite, or the
marvellous form of Apollo, as to say tina
it was the strain OF blood and not skill
full feeding that gave these herds celeb
rity. An Indifferent feeder has never
owned herd that attracted attention
1t has never been the strain of blood
that first attracted attention, but the fin,
development OF the animals; vet aftel
the herd has attracted great attention
then inquiry is made as to the strain O
blood, and then the pedigree comes il
for exaggerated considerations. Tn.
strain OF blood may possess great merit
and in the hands of the skillful feeder i
unfolds in great perfection of form, but
in the hands of the careless feeder it
shows no especial merit. Like good
seed grain, sown in poor soil, it devel-
ops so imperfectly as to lose its reputa-
ton.
Progress in breeding. then, requires a
careful study of all the principles of
since it is food and sur
rnn IL al
form. Skillful feeding requires
knowledge of the special character of
each food. for this alone will show what
combinations of food are required to
produce given result in developing the
animal. The animal is plastic in the
hands of one who is master of the art of
feeding The better the blood the
greater the aptitude for development.
And an animal of the best strain of
blood may have been greatly injured by
want of proper development of its di-
gestive capacity, and, although only six
months old, would have very much less
value, because this unthrifty habit will
take long time to, and perhaps can
never be overcome. Thus we see that
the purchaser is quite justified in taking
into full consideration the development
of the animal as well rs his strain of
blood. National Lire Stock J0urnal.
RAISING SUNFLOwERs.
The sunilower belongs to the compo-
site family, writes Il correspondent of
The Country GenticmaH. and consists
of fifty species. all American, The an
nual Sunflower, common i'm our flower
gardens, is IA native of tropical America,
where ii attains Il wonderful growth
twenty feet high. The stem
is thick and rough; the flowers solitary
and from one TO two feet in diameter,
margincd by yellow ray flow
ers, while the central portion, or disk,
is crowded with brownish tubular ones;
the leaves are heart-shaped and ovate.
The plant is now cultivated in nearly
all parts of the world, but generally on
a small scale. In the south of Europe
and the United States, however, it is
sometimes field crop. The sunilower
requires the richest soil Some writers
have said that it will grow anywhere
and in any soil, with little or no atten-
ton. My experience has been the OPP
posite. Plant the seeds, when the APP
ple-trees bloom. in hills four feet apart
each way, and from three to four seeds
in hill, and ut last working thin out
all the weakest plants but two to hill.
Cultivate the same rs corn. Manure
highly, with good barnyard manure
and wood ashes, or any commercial
fertilizer containing large percentage
OF potash. When ready to harvest, the
seed-heads may be cut off and hung in
sheds until thoroughly dry and ready
for thrashing. Or they may be left. on
the field until nearly dry, and cut off
and thrown on wagon, driven along
side as the cutting proceeds, and each
load drawn to the barn floor and
thrashed Immediately; for, if the heads
arc left lying in a heap they will shortly
heat and rot. The seed must be spread
out thin on the floor and should be
turned every day or two until thorough
ly dry when it can be run through the
grain fan and stored for future use. as
corn or wheat. The seeds are valued
as food for cattle and poultry, and on
account of the oil which they contain,
which is said to be little inferior to olive
oil. The seeds are also used like al
mOnds. for making dcmulcent and
soothing emulslons; and in some parts
of Europe a bouili is made of them,
which is used rs food for infants. The
American Indians make bread of them.
The flowers abound in honey, and are
much frequcntcd by bees. The leaves
arc good fodder for cattle. The stems
are used for fuel and yield much potash.
Few plants are so exhaustive of potash
the constituent in which most soils
are deiiccnt-;ls the sunflower: and its
cultiva,. on. which of late has been re-
by the agricultural press,
for various uses, would soon render fer.
tile soils unproductive. For this reason
it can not become profitable farm crop
at present prices. The idea that the
sunlower is SO called because it always
presents its face to the sun is erroneous;
the name is more probably due to the
resemblance of the tlowerhead to the
old pictorial representations of the sun
as disk surrounded by flaming rays.