Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1890-04-30
Complete Foods.

IN 1ooOlDS planUs 1t lS dDSOluboly nee
essary to supply such elements in the
food-the manure or the fertiliZer-as
will afford everything necessary for
their growth; hence the farmer is
Obliged to study not only the nature OF
the crops he grows, but that of the fer
tilizers he may use. If he gives only
partial supply of potash, or lime, or
phosphoric acid or nitrogen, and not
complete food, the crops do not thrive,
however much of all the rest, but the
one that is deficient may be used. This
has been stated SO often that farmers
are well aware of it, and are careful to
mix the manure or fertilizers in such
way that every element required Is
supplied in the right proportion, and
not too much of any one. But farm
ers have not studied the nature of
the animals they feed and of the foods
they use, nearly so we'll as the crops,
manures ana fertilizers. Consequently
:he various animal products of the farm
are not SO profitable as they should be.
For instance, daiTyman complains
that he is getting very little and very
poor butter from his COWS, and his COWS
are poor and hidebound and do not
seem to thrive, and yet he gives them
all the food they will eat. But what
food? Straw and turnips! Had he
said sawdust and water he would not
have had much more reason to COM
plain of the poor results Of his feeding.
For 10 get enough fat to make pound
of butter from the straw and turnips
| the cow would be obliged to consume
| $50 pounds Of straw and bushel of
| turnips every day, without any allow
once for keeping up the fat in the
body and the vital heat. AS no
cow could consume all this coarse food,
| much less digest it, there was scarcely
enough nutriment in what she could eat
| to keep her alive, not to mention other
necessary aliment to health only, with
out considering the materials for making
| milk. The generous creature did well
to give any milk at all, although it was
thin and blue and had very little cream
on it. In fact the COW was slowly con-
Stunning herself in giving the little milk
she did, and hence her hide was grow
| ing too small to cover her bones. There
are great many COWS fed much like this
one, and which will be poorer In the
spring than they were in the fall simply
| for want of food. An animal contains q
great many substances, as many as q
plant, and as animals feed on plants
| it is reasonable to suppose that
they are made up-as in fact
| they are-of the same elements that
plants are, DuC In varying QuanLlfleS.
Hence complete food, that is, one
| containing in the right proportions
every required element Of plant growth,
| is as necessary to the life of an animal
as such food is to plant. And yet pos
sibly ten farmers can tell what crop re-
| quires to one who can tell what one of
| his animals need. And, moreover, the
| animals are moving creatures, and every
| motion wastes food; they are also heat
producing machines, and the heat must
| be kept up by the proper materials
| quite as much as that of a fire must be.
| And again, cow is expected to
give milk and butter, and
| these consist OF very concentrated
elements of food in great
variety. To supply a complete food
containing every element needed for
all these requirements, is, therefore,
seen to be indispensable, and the knowl-
edge appertaining to the proper feeding
of animals most Important. Hence ev-
| cry farmer should have and study with
| care good manual on the subject of an
| imal foods, or he cannot expect to make
| a satisfactory profit from the feeding of
| his stock. This is weak point in farm
practice, for large proportion of farm
| live stock actually make serious loss
| in their winter feeding instead OF prof
| it, and this is one great reason why
| farming does not pay Henry SteaUart.
Spring Pruning of Grapevines.
| Any moderately warm day in early
| spring is a good time to prune grape