The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1889-07-18
OUR RURbL TOPICS.
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers.
ENsII4AGE.

England. IL should be, borne in mind that in
England they grow no corn-fodder for ensilage
the cl ate being toe cool for it, but clover
grass, aud other forage crops are used there for
enslago with advantage, on account OF the diff
Guilty Of drying such fodder in that moist cli-
mate. DIR. Voelcker said his viows on ensilago
had not materially altered since 1884. but. il
anything, he was more favorable TO it now
than then. Among its advantages arc /. The
possibility of being entirely independent of the
weather oxemplGed in the case of grass or
clover, which can. in the event of continued
bad weather, be saved as ensiIa9e when it could
not be made into hay, or could be made only
into inferior hay, with consequent risk Of
firing in the rick. 9 Tho profitable use of
aftermath when not required for grazing, and
when coming too late for haying. 3. The pos
sibility of extending the supply of succulent
food for indoor feeding in the event of late
Spring and short supply OF early grass. or par
tial failure of the root crop. 4. The utilization
of catch crops for feeding later on where these
have been put in in consequence of % failure of
some other crop. s. The growing Of greater
variety of crops, aud the adoption, when desir-
able, Of finer system of cropping resulting in
the production Of moro Winter keep. g. In
the special case of dairy farms in the vicinity
OF large towns the possibility Of cnsiing grass,
etc. aud avoiding the purchasing of mangcls
and other roots ut high prices. z. The ntiliza-
tinn of waste material, such rs grass from way
sides and hedgo-rows also of crops grown on
sewage farms. Among the disadvantages may
be named /. The dealing with very much
larger weight of material than would be the
case with hay, both Mt the time of Carting and
making the silagc and subsequently IN feeding
/ it, thcrehy involving more labor. 9 The ncces.
sary outlay in the construction of silos or ma
| torials for comprising stacks. 3. The increased
loss of food materials rs compared with hay,
more especially in the case Of silage stacks. T.
The non-increuse in feeding value, either for
! fattening or milk producing purposes. s. The
! large aTCR OF land required for growing ensila.e
as compared with root crops TO supply the same
amount of dry food material. g. The difficult
tics attending the cleaning of land and the sub
! seqncnt growth of grain and straw crops were
eusilago crops 10 be substituted for roots T.
| The impossibility of making silagc mark etable
aud ily-transportablc article.
PooR FARMERS.
No other men are so deuded asafarmers per-
| init themselves 10 be, says the New York Times.
/ They are easily talked over aud influenced
| that they hccpme the prey Of charlataus of all
/ kinds, and especially the victims OF sharpers
/ aud swindlers People of any district may bc
/ jnHGeu by ineiF ifubllC SCHOOLS. a fnan Shuuid
/ spend more for the education of his children
| than FOR their clothing, for the furnishing of
their minds than for HAT Of their bodies and
! inasmuch as the mind Is infinitely superior 70
| the body, SO It's Development aud training are
more to be considered. Viewed from this
point of view one may perhaps make shrewd
| Eness of the cause of the low position occupied
/ by the majority Of farmers Unfortunately
| these men are not mentally clear,sightei, aud
| do not their own unfavorable post
| Hence we sec phiianibrppic associations pro-
| posing 10 the farmers series of questions
eardiug their social. political. moral aud
pccuuiary Standing. anil the causes of its low
| grade. which il adlnitted as forcgone con
clusion by the very submission Of these ques-
/ tons. Every farmer should feel called upon to
! study these matters mad tal the attention of
/ his neighbors TO them as n beginning of q new
/ order OF things. in which the farmers. rendered
/ able by education, trimming, aud change of
/ thought and mind, should occupy high aud
/ potential position
KEEPING HOGS HEALTHY.
How shall keep my hogs healthy?" asks
n subscriber. That Is pretty short question,
1 bat 90 answer IL fully would require cnusidera-
/ ble space. Briefly answering however NO
+ may lay down some general principles that are
| valuable; DO not inhreed. Not that inbred
/ Ing IL necessarily dangerous, as the Rural aud
/ IgcLGaan has often said. but nevertheless much
/ damage results from 10 frequently Feed an
/ abundance OF the muscle. forming and bone
| forming foods such as oats. bran. etc. Feed
4 some OF these foods even during the fattenfng
/ process. Feed some succuent food. Keep in
/ good clean. weli-ventilatcd quarters. DO not
| let the hogs pile upin Winter. Give them free
acccss 10 ashes salt and charcoal. Some swine
/ breeder said a short time ago that he did not
let more than four or five hogs sleep together.
| That Is good on general principles. Follow
these general rules and you will be apt to have
| healthy hogs, especially after n few generations
| OF sneh breeding ana feeding Western Raral.
CAUSE AND CURE FOR nEoAT.
EDfToR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: Experience
keeps dear school, bat in IL | believe have
ionnd the cause oil, and positive care for clover
bl0at III cattle. had been told 10 give nv
cattle plenty OF salt while OF clover aud there
| would be no danger; 80 gave all the salt they
would eat. The consequences was lost one,
aud had three other Very bad cases. but saved
thom by an application OF from 30 10 100 buck ets
Of cold water. Get well above the animal aud
pour the wator on the loins, aud IL will posi-
lively cure Salt causes the animal 10 drink.
and water on the clover In the stomach causes
bloat feed salt sparingly, aud taen only
when tho animal is done feeding for the day.
have no more trouble.-JAMEs VANHOUTIN,
Co. A, 7th III. Cav.
MOTIFS
| - opihyinR iOf tue collin worm rs proving a
great success la New England, and the Yer.
mont fruitgrowers, especially on the islands
and about the borders of Lake Champlain. are
prosecuting it vigorously.
The dog skins 80 extensively used IN
America and elsewhere for making gloves come
largely from China There are thousands al
farms IN Manchnria and Mongolia where from
tens TO hundreds OF dogs are reared yearly.
The dogs are stIangled so as not 10 ininre the
skins being killed in Winter when the coat Is
In the finest condition. Goats are also raised
on large scale fer like purpose.
There are -four breeds OF sheep known In
this country which are usually classed as
Downs, aud which are very highly regarded by
their breeders. all of them ranking high as
producers of frst-class muttOn-a flesh that
commends itself 10 the most critical aud ex-
acting of epeures, as well as 10 everybody else
who enjoys good health and who can sit down
to juicy roast or nicely boiled Joint with a
good appetite aud relish for a hearty meal
They arc the South, Oxford, Hampshire and
Shropshire Downs q ~
- Pack your eggsin salt for Winter use. not
letting an egg touch smother
- Nice shade trees about the house are very
pleasant, are they metz We'll, have we all cot
them about our housesfH
~ Few people mean 10 neglect cleanliness In
lighthouses or stables, but sometimes such
places do become uneleah1y. Watch.
Summer apples should be picked from the
tree early If intended for market-almost M
soon as the skin begins 10 change color. When
left too long on the, tree the fruit becomes