The National tribune., 1889-01-17
OUR RURAL TOPICS.
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers
WHAT ABOUT Sheep


Now is the time to think this matter over.
Dairying is just now the leading farm industry
in New England, and the beef business prom
ises to improve but there is and always will
be good opening for sheep.
On new land whore sprouts are to be kept
down, on rocky hillsides where there is not
grass enough to pay cattle for climbing, on
wornout farms where artificial fertilizers can
not be supplied, and on small places near mar
kets where early lambs can be sold for paying
prices, as we'll as in the hands of many farmers
who are too isolated for associated dairying,
sheep can properly and proftably take the
lead. There is no other branch of farming that
has been so spasmodic as the sheep business.
Every few years there is panic one way or
the other. When they get plenty and some of
the large stock owners begin to reduce their
stock, everybody else will follow suit, and
when good sheep get down to dollar head
farmers will scour the country hunting for a
chance to sell sheep or trade them for farrow-
cows or anything else they can get in exchange.
They begin to see how small the income from
the sheep viii be, but think nothing about the
profit or loss on other stock if they can only
get their sheep off their hands. Then when
sheep get scarce and cost 81, everybody wants
to buy sheep, and men who never wanted any
before viii discover some great benefit they
might derive from a few sheep on the farm.
All this has been enacted over and over again,
till it seems that some men never will learn
by experience or observation. Do not buy
sheep because they are high nor because it is
the fashion, but with a farm properly fenced
and with dogs out of the way, sheep can be
made to pay in the long run.-MiTrOr aud
Farmer.
WINTER PROTECTION OF FRUIT TREES.
Where mice and rabbits are abundant they
are far more destructive to apple trees than
the boreTs. If SHOWS fall to a considerable
depth in Winter, rabbits readily travel over
the surface, and are enabled to reach the bark on
the stems several feet above the roots, and from
this point downward as the snow settles. But
mice work under the snow, and usually at
about the same place where the borers are
found consequently tar paper wrappings will
answer the double purpose of keeping out the
borers and prevent the attacks of mice 1t is
well known that rabbits dislike the taste and
smell of animal matter, such as grease blood
and meat and for this reason smearing the
4 stems of apple trees with lard, blood. or stale
! fat pork has often been recommended and ex-
/ tensiVely employed to prevent the attacks of
/ these pests. On the other hand, mice are at
tracted by such applications, and while eating
the grease or blood from the trees they are
very likely to get taste of the sweet bark
( underneath and continue their depredations
so long as the snow protects them from observa-
ton. TO prevent the attacks of rabbits, the
stems of young trees should be wrapped with
cloth bark or strong paper from the ground up
to the lower branches, and these wrappings
should be left on until the following Spring.
Then remove them and lay aside for use when
they shall be needed again, provided the mate
rials used for this purpose are of a durable
nature. The thinnest kind OF tarred roofing
paper is an excellent material for wrapping the
stems of trees to protect them against the at
lacks of borers, mice and rabbits, aud is cheap
and duTable.-AmeTicaa AgficultlfiSt.
EARLY BRoILERs.
The carly broiers must be Matched not later
than Feb. l., and January is the best month
for Matching them. 1t requires about Is weeks
three monthsl from the time the egg is put
under the hen following three weeks for
incubation) until the chick goes to market.
This allows 10 weeks for growth. The
weight of the chick at that age depends upon
the breed and how il is fed and managed We
have known one or two chicks in a brood to
reach two pounds weight when nine weeks old,
I and whole brsod TO attain that weight when
10 weeks old but il is safe TO claim that for a
large number of chicks. one and half pounds
Z
good care, even il that weight is expected.
The chicks Matched in January will reach the
market about April, and those Matched in Feb
ruary vii. be sold III May. November April
and May are the months when prices are high
est, and it is we'll to look ahead and have the
chicks hatched at time when you can safely
( make some kind OF calculation as to when they
are to be sold and what to expect. The actual
/ cost OF the food to produce one pound OF chick
1 is five cents, but there is also the cost of the
| eggs the labor, the buildings, and other items
/ The prices in April and May sometimes reach
| so cents per pound, but the general average for
that period Is about % cents.
LUsIP-JAw N CATTLE.
| EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: Can anyone
| tell me the nature of lHmpjaw in cattle;
! whether durable, and what should be done?
/ There are two swelings of two months dura-
/ ton in throat aud neck Of COW; growing larger;
/ they are about size OF Il mans fist. Is il con-
! tagious disease Pr. u. BEHHAM, East Jordan,
| II ch.
NOTES.
Lambs like cotton-s seed meal, but it should
be fed sparingly
EARLY feeding is the most desirable for
fowls. The morning meal is important and is
also best relished.
Never use stale eggs for nest-eggs Nest
! egg gourds are best. A single stale egg may
! ruin your reputation.
The young stock, as well as the females
used for breeding purposes, demand diet rich
! in the elements that tend to produce bone and
| flesh
All fertilizers should be in as fine condi-
tion as possible, for upon the degree of fneness
| depends to a great extent the solubility of the
Ingredients.
When you order trees the coming Spring,
get those that are not over one year old, as
they will root better and grow faster than those
that are larger.
The peach or plum tree, when planted the
coming Spring, should be put in the poultry
yard. 1t will be partially protected from in
| sects, and will grow rapidly.
| The farmer who is expecting his mares or
cows to come in should not fail to supply lib
era amount of clover Tor clover and timothy
hay, reducing the grain food.
Always have cutters to carry off the water
from the caves of barns and stables. 1t pre-
vents dampness to a certain extent, and will
enable you to have cistern full of water at all
seasons.
Mixed farming permits of greater variety
| of crops, more stock, more manure, larger
yields, and lessons the loss in case of drought
or fluctuations in the markets. 1t is not safe
to depend on a single crop for profit.
An excellent location for bee-keeper is
said to be near canning factory, as the growth
of all kinds of vegetables and green crops is
thus encouraged, and sometimes lasts till late
| in the season.