The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1886-10-08


greater extent than any other animals
that are kept Oh the farm. Work horses
are generally well sheltered. fed. and
cared for They are protected from the
cold and from storms; are allowed oats
and corn in addition to the best hay
produced on the farm; are supplied
with water several times each day; are
curried and brushed every morning
and evening, and covered with blankets
whenever it is very cold and they have
been at work in the field or on the road
Breeding mares also receive much care
and attention, as their owners are con-
stantly thinking about the profit to be
derived from their colts. Since dairying
has become profitable industry the
owners of mich cows generally take
excellent care of them. They have as
certained that kindness, protection
against storms, liberal feeding, pains
in supplying pure water, and furnish
ing salt at proper times pay. No dairy
farmer can afford to treat his COWS with
neglect. Those who raise cattle for
beef find it profitable to keep them COM
Portable ut all times. They notice that
their gam is in proportion to the food
They have learned that early maturity
liberal feeding.
A visit to a breeding farm shows that
all the animals are well housed. bounti-
fully fed, and carefully tended. They
are kept in buildings that many poor
families would like to occupy. The
pastures where they feed in summer
contain a variety of grass and clover.
and are supplied with pure, cold water
conducted from springs or drawn from
wells. The animals are not obliged to
travel half a mile to obtain drink
and then quench their thirst at some
stagnant pool. There are open sheds
where they can stand when the sun is
hot, and trees that afford a cooling
shade. The object of every feeder is to
improve the quality of the animals he
keeps. Even swine-raisers have dis
covered the advantages of protection,
cleanliness, good food, and proper care
for the despised hog. One does not
often see now pigs running in the road
or wallowing in the mud of cutters.
During the summer they are ordinarily
in clover pastures that are provided
with shade trees and watering-troughs.
At other times of the year they arc Kept
in clean yards or covered pens. Next
to the horse, the hog has the best food
raised on the farm. The hog is no
longer the scavenger of the farm. He
has clean food to eat, pure water to
drink, and dry place to sleep on.
Even his comfort is looked after.
But the sheep, the most tender as we'll
as the most dependent animals kept on
the farm, are the ones that are the
most neglected. 1t appears to be the
general opinion that any kind OF land
is good enough for sheep pasture. A
land-grant railway company after it has
disposed of all its lands that are thought
to be of any value for cultivation or for
grazing cattle and horses. advertises the
remainder ut nominal price Us .'suit-
able for sheep-raising," Knowing that
sheep husbandry has prospered in Scot
land and Vermont while it has declined
in most of the states having q very
productive soil, some people have an
rived at the conclusion that lodges of
rocks, sand banks, huge powders, cob
ble-stones, and stunted bushes are ex-
cellent for sheep. They have also learn
cd that deep SHOWS. severe storms, and
long winters are very favorable to sue
cess in sheep raising. Many seem to
think that the land they occupy is not
well adapted to sheep because it pro-
duces good crops of grass and is free
from stones, stumps and bushes. If
they keep any sheep it is for the pur-
pose of utilizing some land that is too
rocky and barren to produce paying
crops that require cultivation and which
is Of very little value for pasturing cattle
and horses. Someone has said that 'the
worst pun is the best one" and many
seem to think that the poorest land
for other purposes is the best for sheep.
Few persons seem to think that it is
necessary or even advisable to improve
sheep pasture. They believe that
these animals can .'pick up a living" on
land where any kind of vegetation
grow. How to keep sheep without any
cost is problem that many persons
have been trying to solve. Volumes
have been written to prove that sheep
will live for months without water, pro-
viding they are in n region where there
are heavy dews. Few sheep-raisers are
at the trouble and expense of sinking
wells and putting in pumps operated by
wind-powor for the purpose OF raising
water for their flocks. If there is creek
or pool within half mile they will
oblige sheep to 60 to it to obtain drink.
Some think that they should be salts
fled with the moisture supplied by dew.
as humming-birds are. Every few
months someone brushes into print" to
declare that sheep will live for years
without salt. The straw of wheat, bar
ley, rye, and flax is thought to be good
enough food for sheep during the
winter. They advocate allowing them
to remain in n rocky pasture till tho
frost kills and the snow covers the grass,
and they return them to this place early
in the spring for fear that the hay will
not hold out" for the cattle and
horses. During all the year they COM
plain that "tho bottom has fallen out
| of the wool business. - Chicago Times.
A FIELD LONG NEGLECTED.