Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-08-23
FARa AND ORCHARD.
CULTIVATION OF RYE IN THE FALL
AND SPRING.
Experiments Made in Feeding Young
Ohickens-The Gapes-Raising
Young Turkeys-Etc.

Rye is really fail and spring crop, a
it comes in for pasturing late in the sea
son, and is ready for stock early in tn,
spring before any other green feed il
ready. As rye is expected to produce MOI
only pasturage but also grain and straw
it taxes the land in proportion to the use:
to which it has been applied, and to secure
the best results the land should be pre-
pared in August, not only by liberal ap
plication of manure, blowing, and working
down fine with a harrow, but the land
should again be worked over in September,
before seeding, as fine seed-bed is essen
tial Rye aourishes on nearly all kinds Of
soils, and will thrive on light sandy lands
that are unfit for wheat or oats. 1t is a
hardy plant, and endures treatment that
would be fatal to some. other cereals.
Though not valued SO highly as wheat,
yet it is more serviceable for farm pur-
poses, and its adaptability to nearly all
sections renders it one Of the surest and
best crops for those who do not secure
straw or green food from other sources.
Rye is not considered as valuable as grass
for pasturing, but its value consists in the
amount of green and succulent food it pro-
vides late Ia the season. When nearly all
other vegetation is drying up and drop
ping the leaves, rye is just in the proper
condition to take its place for pasturage,
and provides green food until we'll in the
winter. The richer the soil the greater
the amount of green food it provides, and
the earlier it will start off again in the
spring. and, of course, the ryecan be grazed
by stock with less injury on fertile soil
The importance of such crop as rye for
late pasturage is not 50 much in the nutri-
tlon afforded by the rye itself, for in the
early stages of its growth it is composed
largely of water, bat it serves purpose of
assisting digestion when the animals are
put on dry food. If but few hours each
day are allowed to the cows on rye, quite
an advantage will be secured in the keep
ing of the animals in full flow of milk
AS rye grows early in the spring, it pro-
vides green food before grass is ready, and
gives the first relief from the winters mo-
notony of dry provender, and as it grows
up as fast as the animals Craze it down,
small patch affords an abundant supply if
it is not traEpled too much. As grain
crop it also yields well when the land is
literally MANFRED, and the straw is more
valuable than that of wheat, being always
In demand in the market for bedding pur-
poses. In fact, in some sections rye is
grown as much for its straw as for its grain,
but its real value is as grain crop.-PiiI-
adeIphia Record.
SHOULD WET FOOD BE GIVEN?
The food of the hen was never intended
to be wet or sloppy, while that of the duck
should be Just the reverse. The construc-
ton of the bills of the hen and the duck
show plainly that the one should select
seeds or other dry food, while the other
is for food more bulky. The internal
of solid food. When the food enters the
crop and is there accumulated it becomes
softened somewhat and also slightly acidu-
lated, the food then passing to the second
receptacle, known as the ventriculous and
from thence to the gizzard The ven
triculous is supplied with large number
of tubular glands the contact of the food
with the walls of which promotes the
pouring out of an acid secretion. The
food thus saturated enters the gizzard,
where it is reduced to pulp. When the
food is very soft and watery less quantity
of the secretion is poured out and the di-
gestion is not promoted. This is similar
to the saturation of food by the salivary
glands of mammals when food is masti-
Gated in the mouth, the more water drank
the less quantity of the secretion poured
out
As the gizzard is intended to do the
work of mastication, and as it is capable of
reducing the hardest flint to the condition
of an impalpable powder, it is plain that
there is no necessity for softening or grind
ing the food of poultry, either for adults
or chicks, as nature provides for both
softening and grinding The presence Of
too much water in the food is not relished
by the hens, and when they are compelled
to depart from the natural laws governing
them they become liable to disease.
Experiments made in feeding young
chicks with dry food exclusively show
that they thrive and remain free from
bowel difficulty, while similar results were
not obtained when wet food was given,
bowel disease attacking the chicks. In
feeding dry food TO poultry, however, one
thing must be kept in view, and that is
the fact that fowls must have variety.
The reason that wet food is given by many
is that greater variety can be included
in that form. There is, however, differ
ence between dry food, wet food and food
that is only slightly moistened in a man.
ner to cause the ground food to adhere
sufficiently to permit the hen to eat it.
Ground, dry food clogs the nostrils of
hens, and for that reason no food should
be fed in the dry, ground condition, but
should be fed whole or very slightly
dampened. Whole grains, or food in its
entire state, is more wholesome for fowls,
because they can prepare it in the gizzard
better than il can be done for them
r. H. Jacobs in Farm and FIreside.
GAPEs.
This death dealing disease is easily mas
tered if YOU will but note the following
As a preventive, keep the chickens per-
feetly dry ION the barn floor is the best
place. the first four weeks. If the ground
is cold or damp, do not let them out until
il is dry. Dampness is the main cause of
gapes. / have had nine broods of chickens
TO care for this spring and have not lost
one, nor has one been sick. If you al
ready have gapes in your flock, give
crumbs of bread with few drops of tur-
pentine on. The best way to prepare it is
to cut twelve chunks of dry bread; place
the chunks on board and put drop Of
turpentine on each. Cut each chunk in
two, and feed. Or to one pint of corn
meal add one teaspoonful of turpentine
mix thoroughly, then scald. and feed once
day. See that every gapy chick eats; il
any refuse, put pill Of it down them
win those trying the above please re
port p The Guitirator and Country Gentle
man.
TURKEYS.
In raising your turkeys be careful thai
they do not get wet. Give hard-boilec
eggs, with few bread crumbs soaked il
milk for the first ten days, with little
-. = L. fflo,o,.ol 49,.