Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1886-01-07
HOW TO STOCK FARMS.


HOW TO STOCK FARMS.
Extracts From Father Clarkson's Paper
Convention.
His first point was that it makes NJ
difference whether man be graduate
direct from the agricultural college or 6
refugee from defeats and disasters in
nearly all departments of industry, hi
is not necessarily the rough block which
is to be wrought into live agricultur
list, if he has not the inbred and inborr
love of rural pursuits, backed by an in
dustry which will lead him tc
rise early and lead his employees
afield. If one expects by en-
ergy and industry to convert native
or exhausted soil into successful, di.
versified farm of grain, grass and stock,
select land which by the agency of wise
husbandry, can be converted into rich
and prolific farm. Then determine
what class of animals shall be used. In
deciding this question, recollect that nc
farm was ever large enough, nor a LOT
so contracted as to breed and
raise successfully two breeds OF
any one class of animals or birds. Let
there be no dividing the efforts on diff
ferent breeds. And it is well to warn
the inexperienced against purchasing
stock of breeding farms where one mans
knowledge of breeding, feeble at best, is
divided and diluted by variety, or even
two kinds of cattle, horses or chickens.
A man who grasps at so much has but 6
limited idea of his own powers, or the
full scope and compass of the meaning
of ''fine-stock breeder"
Having determined these preliminaries,
what shall be the process of stocking the
farm? A part, at least, must be suitably
prepared before the stock is introduced,
and whether it be when but small por.
ton of the farm is ready, or when it is
fully developed, with grain, grass and
comfortable buildings, guard studiously
against over-stocking. This is one
of the greatest errors in stock
farming. If it be intended for
a breeding farm, get the best to
be had, without regard to price, even if
the number be not one-fourth of your
previous ideas. The animal must not
only have all the points to the nearest
perfection, but he must ''be able to read
his title clear The whole
pith and point in code of instructions,
''How to Stock Farm" is in grading
up as fast as possible. No
man, however poor or rich, can afford
to use a male animal of any kind but
thoroughbred.
The next most important thing j. tC
study the great lessons of breeding and
feeding until you understand your bust
ness. But few men do. A good farmer
and eminent politician of Iowa truly
says: at takes longer to learn how to
raise calf well than it does to learn
how to draw up an indictment that will
hold water. When a man has once
solved the problems of breeding, feed
ing, handling and elevating above its
ancestors an animal of any class, he has
mastered the business, and can claim to
stand in that noblest class of men-an
advanced farmer. Then only will you
know how to stock farm
Every well-ordered farm, whether
large or small, ought to have suitable
number of horses on it; among the rest
few choice brood mares. And it
should be borne in mind that all animals
kept for breeding, the progeny of which
are intended for work or high stepping,
should be worked regularly, but suita-
bly,. 1t is the only way to perpetuate
and improve the activity and strength
of the muscles. If Providence had I'M
posed idleness on the human race, long
ere this the earth would be as desolate
as the face of the moon, so far as hui
mainly is concerned. The race would
have become too effeminate to per-
petuate its species.
In stocking the farm with horses there
is another crying evil practiced 1t is
worse, if possible, than the prevalent
evils in breeding cattle 1t is the use of
mongrel stations. In grading up the
classes of stock it is known that it can
be done fifty times faster by the male
than the female branch; hence farmers
should look mainly to improvement
male domestic animals. The
horses in Iowa have been greatly
retarded in improvement by I'M
wise and INSCRIPTIONS owners con-
tending that half-breed Percheron or
Clyde stations do very we'll This is on
the untenable and fallacious position
that a half-breed is half as good as a
pure blood. This foolish idea has been,
and will continue to be for long years to
come, one OF the curses and bllghts upon
agricultural prosperity. what can be
hoped for horse whose DAMS breeding
is entirely unknown, or of the very OPP
posite type to that of the thoroughbred
sire? This is making breeding a mere
lottery. 1t is a loss of valuable time, of
which humanity has none to spare, and
which will only bring disappointment to
those who are foolish enough to engage
in a system of breeding that actual ex-
perience has shown can only end in
failure. Never use a half
breed or mongrel male animal, no mat
ter how handsome his appearance.
Blood which has been perfected and puri-
fed by long line of careful breeding
has potent power which no mixture
with inferior blood has. "-Pratrie
Farmer.