The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1886-03-12
FARM TOPICS.
Scientific Observations Of Great Value t.
Observation-Disclosures Of u Cheap
Rustic Fence.
The Profit on Comfort abiy-kep Live stock
in and out of the Stable.-Experi-
ments with Potatoes.
TUE COMFORT OF ANIMALS


The degree of comfort he accords to
animals in their daily winter life is what
distinguishes the thinking from the I'm.
thinking man. A case in point would
be as between animals tied up i'm STALE
and wintering them in sheds secure from
rain. wind and snow. The stock have
plenty of bedding day and night. and
the horses should have blankets also in
winter. If boodcd cattle are kept,
these should hc blanketed also i'm winter,
and if the animals so kept are not clean
ed once day the probability is. except
in driving storms. they would be better
i'm wards with good sheds than in the
stable. Why? They could take the
necessary exercise to keep their blood in
motion and their digestion good. The
horse is tropical and sub-tropical ami
NAL. The mule requires to be kept
warmer than the horse. and the ass will
soon pine and become worthless under
extreme cold. In fact. all our farm ami
mails are natives of countries where
green vegetation or other succulent food
may he supplied the year round. To
prepare them for the Indictment seasons
storms in the winter in the tropics,
and the colder weather of sub-tropical
climates nature provides the hog with
a thick layer of fat under the skin, laid
on during the summer and autumn, and
also with species of wool under the
bristles. Other farm animals acquire
lengthening of the air or wool to con-
serve heat in addition to fat, to carry
them through the Indictment season.
Under the artificial treatment of civilized
life the coat of hair becomes more and
more lessened-fner and thinner--and
especially so when kept in stables, par
ticularly dark ones. Deprived also Of
exercise. the blood becomes stagnant
and the animal is chilled. leading to
various complications, not the least OF
which is indigestion and the power of
assimilating food. They eat ravenously.
yet they lose flesh.
Exercise. or. in lieu of this, artificial
clothing or fire heat and grooming
countcract this tendency to disability.
The thinking man attends to the neces-
sary wants of the animal, and keeps the
stable clean and the ventilation good.
The unthinking man has his animals
suffering from scratches. grease, and
other blood disorders. stiffened limbs.
impaired hoof>. diseased frogs, and
various other disabilities that might be
! obviated by little care arising from
| thought.
One OF the most common errors on
the farm is the neglect to furnish plenty
of bedding night aud day. 1t takes no
more material to supply a bed six inches
thick than one three inches. No more
L.. L. Ill,
than with the thin bed. The saturated
litter contains the really valuable portion
of the excrcment rs manure an import
ant fact TO rccollect. In fact. il bedding
is scarce--and il never is or should not
be on the farm the wet litter may be
dried and again used. Hence il is q
sign of misdirccted though, to see ami
mails. either in the stable or ont, on the
bare floor or ON the frozen ground
| Horses. cattle and sheep will endure
severe cold if allowed exercise. This
they will take in Il yard or in y shed.
The action of moving about even slowly
keeps the blood circulating ut the sur
face. and the animal remains warm un-
less exposed 10 the wind. In Il still at
mospherc the bodily heat is carried
about i'm the hair. If blown away a
chill ensues. Hence animals in grove
or next Il windbreak remain comfort
able, except when exposed 10 rain.
The most uncomfortable and most dam
pcrous state for the animal is that of
6avinr the hair or wool saturated with
rain. Dry snow does little injury if the
animal he fully fed. The question of
whether the heat and health of the ami
nal are best conserved by less food and
better clothing and grooming in the
stable. or with more food to keep up
the animal heat outside, will depend