The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1892-05-18


food for tho brood SOW during the winter
season than mangold wurtzels; they are
nourishing and laxative and good for milk
production. II no roots are at hand, slops
| should be given in abundance TO both
SOW and pigs Ground corn, oats, bran
| and oil meal should be used. and should
| be given sweet II Is great mistake to
believe that hogs, unlike all other ami
mails. thrive best on spoiled food.
The chief production of summer pork
requires plenty OF good pasture, clover
being preferred. Grass supplemented by
grain will produce a 200-pound hog for
market before the usual heavy run breaks
| prices about the 1st of October. Start the
| pigs right and push them, il you would
make any money by the production OF
pork
ImportAnt Psfnss Abpus PIowiaE.
The following summary OF the more
important points noted in trials of Plows
by aid of q dynsmometer or drait-tester
will be found valuable to every farm
reader:
/. Sulky plows draw easier down hill
and much harder up hill than walking
plows
.. The sulky plow draws harder than
the walking plow, but only very slightly
when properly adjusted.
8. Zach inch of increase of soil turned,
either in width or depth, does not cause
an equal increase in draft
4. Coulters increase draft of plows by
some 10 per cent
5. Trucks or email wheels under the
end of the plow-beams decrease draft by
about II per cent.
4 - -
in right line with the direction of draft OF
pillow the draft Of pillow is increased.
7. A iurrow OF 7xl4 inches, on timothy
cod. requires over 500 pounds OF draft. or
more than the normal pull OF three
horses.
s. A loss OF draft was found on sulkv
pillow when its adjustment to take land
was made from the pole.
9. 4 generally imperfectly adjusted
pillow drew 80 per cent harder than one
more perfectly adjusted without coulters
and with trucks under the beam.
The great decrease of draft produced by
the truck under the beam is especially
worthy Of note Coulters make a eerious
addition 70 the draft. All tests emphasis
the need OF perfect adjustment of every
part. Such adjustment Ia in the interest
OF both team and plowman.
Country Road~
The present system of maintaining
country roads is not a good one The
state of the roads proves the truth of this
statement. The management is left in
the hands of local communities, and they
too often hand it over to some who have
no other qualification than that they have
no business Of their own TO attend While
md - 20 -, II
States, the cost of maintenance comes
upon the taxpayers of the locality in
which The road lies. The result is that
the expense OF maintenance is kept down
to a minimum, and, worst of all the taxes
levied are placed often in the hands of in
competent men for expenditure. In fact,
it is doubtful whether competent men
could be found in most communities. as
road-msking is a science, and a road
master should be master of it. Study
and sound judgment are required in the
application Of labor to the public highway.
A kind of information is needed that can
be gotten best only in technical schools.
With the present system OF dirt roads
farmers are falling behind in the rush of
this rapid age. Miles no longer determine
distance. Chicago is nearer New York
City than the great majority of New York
farmers. Within the next ten wears We
may expect to see 2 revolution in trans
portation through the country districts
The present dirt roads keep farm values
down. Little progress has been made in
these lines, while the outside world has
been moving at a rapid rate change
for the better must come in our country
roads.
Clearing Land of stamps.
In this age of machinery it does not paw
TO leave stumps in the plowed fields.
They mar the beauty of the land, but this
is a small item compared with the loss in
time. in land. and in breakage of ma
chinery. Their removal need not be cost
ly, and il ia strange that so many are left
to rot down in their own good time. The
expensive machines that are occasionally
advertised are not at ell necessary, and in
| fact they are unable to handle the largest
and deeply-rooted ones.
In case field has been cleared several
years the best plan is to begin the work
several months before the blowing season.
4 man with ak and mattock should cut
| and dig around each stump one foot deep.
| letting the sun and air reach the wood
| underneath. One man can treat thirty
or forty in this way in day. 1t will be
| found that quite a large proportion of
them can be pried out with a lever, or
| twisted out with horse and chain and
lever. The stumps that are too sold to
| yield to this treatment should be let stand
to dry out
After few months the stumps first
| pulled will be dry enough to fire the
others with. If the stump is very large it
should be shattered with Hercules pow
der, as il will then burn more readily.
Blowing out large stumps with this pow
| der is hardly advisable, for two reasons.
a sufficiently large amount to throw them
| out makes the expense heavy, and usual
| ly enough dirt comes out with it to leave
a large cavity. On thin soils this is very
| injurious, az too much of the top soil is
lost in leveling. Fire is the cheapest
agent. but it is important that the dirt be
previously removed sufficiently TO burn
the stump several inches below the sur
| face. Intelligent use OF the lever, powder
and fire will clear most fields at moderate
/ cost.
THE SENTINEL Former observed a man
drive around six walnut stumps in a
highly cultivated field for twenty-five
years. One afternoon he and his man
were led to test their permanency, and
within three hours had all OF them out.
This man had lost time and money and
| injured his machinery needlessly. So il