The national leader., 1889-01-05
FARM NOTES.


further mechanical action upon it while
passing through the digestive organs.
liz the food Is too wet, the horse can
easily swallow it with very little mas
tlcatiOn. and then there will be very
little flow Of saliva to mix with it, and
the saliva is a very Importance agent In
the digestion Of the horse. If the food
IS given dry, the horse must mastlcate
it till 1t is moistened with saliva before
he can swallow it. and when the food
Is not too concentrated, 1t is improved
by feeding dry. It is for this reason
that we caution to moisten the cut hay
barely enough, because the weeds stick
to 1t, 80 that both hay and weeds shall
be eaten together.
1t will very readily he seen why the
unmasticated food swallowed by the
horse. without admiXture Of saliva,
would produce bad effects in passing
through the digestive organs largely
undigested. If any system could De
devised for mixing the ground grain
with the dry cut hay, so as to insure the
mastication Of both together, that
would be the best way of feeding the
horses. But there are so few horses
that thoroughly masticate even whole
oats, that it is much better to have the
grain ground.
Some horses will masticate oats so as
to be fairly digested, but horses Will
not masticate whole corn so as TO be
well digested.
That system which produces the
most complete digestion and assimlla-
tiOn of the food must be the best, and
no one has yet shown that the grain.
fed separately, is as we'll digested as
when properly mixed with the fodder.
But sloppy food, whether mixed or un
mixed, is not as well digested as food
that Is thoroughly masticated and mixed
with saliva. Yet feeding too wet does
not have as bad an effect upon rum
mating ANIMALS as the horse. because
the cow remasticates her food, If mixed
with coarse fodder. and 1t has thus
second opportunity to absorb saliva.
Any dairyman can try the expert
ment OF feeding his cows four to six
quarts Of corn-meal per day in two
feeds. for three weeks, and after the
first five days he will find the drOppings
tinged with tho meal, showing that 1t
has passed undigested, and certainly.
what passes undigested is wasted. But
IL the corn-meal is properly mixed with
cut hay. there will be none of it passed
into the manure undigested. This fact
decides the whole question.
SHELTER THE WAGON IN WINTER.
To provide more shelter for animals,
some farmers allow wagons to stand
out Of doors during the winter. They
think that winter weather does not
iniure the wagon. The fact is that in
winter the moisture gets in and stays
In; in the summer it dries out. Hence
q wagon will spoil more in winter than
In summer; ard while in summer the
parts, drying, become loose, the cause
OF the evil Is really the moisture get
ting into the wood. In winter the
water gets into crevlces and freezes,
and the expansion forces the pieces
apart or makes large crack of small
one. 1t pays to paint wagon fire.
Quently, and this the farmer can do for
himself. Stripes and scrolls do not add
to the value Of the wagon, The paint.
Ing can be done in the barn when the
weather is too disagreeable for outside
work.
THE value Of stable dung, must not
be estimated upon actual richness in
ammonia or phoSphOrlc acid within a
short period of its production, but
must be calculated on its wonderful
physical and chemical action on the
elements of the soil and the air, and
upon its merits as vehicle or cOnduc-
tor into which completing quantities of
outside substances can be introduced,
decomposed and rapidly made availa-
BILE.
ALWAYS afford shelter from the
winds by building fodder or straw
ricks. A cold wind will do more
damage in an hour. to stock, than will
quiet still day that is cold and severe,
1t is the air in motion that takes away
the heat Of the bodies, grain from the
bin, and money from your pocket.
The chestnut tree will grow on
nearly all soils, especially if the soil is
drained. The locust thrives on thin or
heavy soils, and makes durable posts.
The elm is one of the best for road
sides, but its growth is slow. Which
tree will suit you and your soil, farmer,
as it is your duty to set outp Lay your
plans noWl
FEW farmers realiZs the amount
which an acre Of grapes will bring if
the crop Is a full one and prices are
very low. Three cents a pound seems
ridiculously cheap. yet at this price an
acre OF any productive variety will
bring more money than an acre of
grain or any kind of farm crops. Two
tons per acre is a small yield. but three
cents a pound gives gross return of
Sl20 per acre.
A large portion Of the corn crop is
converted into glucose an / the refuse
fed to stock. Glucose manufactures
give employment to large number of
persons and enable the farmers to
derive better prices for corn. The pro-
per mode OF selling corn, however, is
In the shape or pork.
IF your supply Of hay is short, use
your straw and corn fodder as rart of
the daily ration. Any deficiency in the
coarse food can be cupplied with extra