The Bottineau pioneer., 1890-01-25
FARM, FIELD AND GARDEN.
DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF
FARMERS AND DAlRYMEN.

| The Care Of Animals ON the Farm-Props,
Management /. Feeding and shelterins
Stock So - to Bring Them Safely and
Probably Through tho Winter.
At this season the domestic animals
require more than the usual care in feed.
ing and in protecting them from the in.
clement weather of the winter months.
A failure to give them proper attention
through this period. will. in most sec.
tions, not only cause the loss Of much
they have gained through the summer,
but often leave them in such poor and
emaciated condition in the spring a. te
make the raising of them wholly un'
profitable. Generally. it may be said
that farmer who cannot afford warm
stabling for his cattle aud horses cannot
afford to raise them. The profits in farm.
ing are now too small to permit of any
loss from the want Of proper care and
management, either in the productions
Of the soil or the feeding and fattenina
Of stock.
Warm shelter having been provided
for the comfort of animals, their food
should be adapted to their natural habits
and special requirements. Illuminating
animals have capacious stomachs calcu-
lated for the reception of bulky and
fbrous food, and should not be fed on
concentrated food alone. Where whole
corn is fed to cattle, much Of it fails ia
be assimilated and passes out in the drop.
pings. Such feeding is wasteful, to say
the least. When whole grains are fed,
it should be in connection with chopped
food, so that it may be raised and be
remasticated. Then again, corn meal
when fed alone is often found in the
manure but little changed. This teaches
the lesson that concentrated and coarse
food should be fed together, SO that, in
the case Of animals that chew the cud,
what il swallowed may be remasticated
and fairly digested.
Cattle housed in the stable should have
comfortable positions and bedding. An.
other special requirement for the health
and improvement Of animals in the Sta
bic Is the cleanliness, which can only be
obtained for them by daily (not occa-
sionaD grooming. Every animal should
be curried, brushed and kept clean if it
Is to make a good appearance in the
spring. The practice that many persons
have Of leaving the filth of the stable ad.
herring to their cattle until they shed
their hair In the spring cannot be too 90
verely condemned. The skin of animals
has the same functions to perform a.
that Of the human race. No better ex-
ample of the advantages Of keeping the
akin Of animals in a clean and healthy
condition can be given than is afforded
in the sleek and shining coats Of careful
ly groomed horses.
Some of the attentions that animals
require from their keepers are not of the
most pleasant or agreeable kind, but they
are such as no good farmer can afford to
neglect.
Again. one should study the nature
and different dispositions of his animals.
Some are naturally kind and docile and
give but little trouble; others are high
spirited, wild or perhaps vicious. Such
require treatment adapted to the case.
It is not necessary to use brutal treat
naent in teaching an animal that its
keeper is master. Striking an animal
on the head is one Of the very worst
forms of correction. -.
Draught animals should never be taxed
beyond their strength. Balky teams
have almost invariably been made 80 by
overlooking or bad driving.
It should be remembered that animals
have good memories and the habit Of
doing over again what they have done
before. The horse Of the butcher or
milkman comes to full stop at the right
places in his daily rounds from the force
of habit He has been accustomed to
stop there. He remembers it and stops
again. This very faculty, however, is
one that often gives his owner trouble.
When . horse stalls at bad place in the
road and after repeated whippings il un-
able to pull out until the most of his load
has been thrown of, he must be an ex-
ceptionably good horse If he does not
balk there the next time. even with q
light load. When horse stops at the
foot of a hill and refuses to 60 further,
it may be set down as certain that he has
had trouble there before and remembers
it. Occasionally q horse has been SO
badly spoiled by heavy loads and inhu-
man treatment while going up hill that
he will instinctively stop at the foot Of Z
declivity he has never seen before.