The National tribune., 1893-11-30
OUR RURAL TOPICS.
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers

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Agricultural Readers
Prof Ell. Ell. Dean says: 81 would warn
against feeding much more than so pounds Of
silage per day to cows weighing under 1000
pounds. We have found the following ration
to give good results: so pounds of corn silage
six pounds of hay, four pounds of bran, and
two pounds of pea and oatmeal mixed in equal
proportions. If these latter become too high
priced / would recommend the use of two
pounds of cotton-seed meal lin place Of the
bran or meals) per day to each COW when it can
be bought for about $50 per ton.
Feed literally, though not wastefully, bear
ing in mind that although the per cent of fat
may not be increased by liberal feeding, the
total amount of fat or butter may be largely
increased by causing the cow to give larger
quantity of milk. Three things determine tho
value of cow: the quality of her milk, the
quantity she gives, and the economical use she
makes of her food.
During the hot weather butter makers are
frequently troubled with soft butter. This is
of the milk. cream and butter; but there is
tendency during hot spells for the butter to be
soft. no matter what the care taken. From the
experiments here reported am led to believe
that the addition of small quantity Of meal,
especially cotton-seed meal, has a tendency
to make the butter frmer. or, as we say,
raise the melting point from one to four de-
grees Centigrade Last Summer We fed about
one ponnd per day TO each cow while at past
ure, aud our butter maker informs me that he
did not have churning of soft butter during
the whole season. Whether this was due alto
gether to the cotton-seed meal / am not pre-
pared to say, but think it had something to
do with it. In feeling cotton meal ait
should be mixed with bran, cut hay, or some
grain meal"
Wood ashes contain much carbonate of potash.
Only FIVE per cent. of vegetable products are de-
rived from the soil, but small as this may seem
it is of the utmost Importance that the proper
amount be present. and that the dif ferent con-
stituents are in the proper form, The other 95
consists principally of carbon and water. The
great difference OF per cents can be readily made
apparent by burning any vegetable to complete
incineraton. The small amount of ash left
represents in solid form what was assimilated
by the plant from the soil. That which was
taken from the air has gone back to the air.
That from the earth to the earth has been re-
turned.
In applying fertilizers they are generally
sown broadcast. Some prefer to drill them in,
but in experimenting as to the best method of
application there was no perceptible difference
between the drilling and that sown broadcast.
Varnum Frost, of Arlington gives the follow
ing rs his method Of raising cucumbers in his
house of forced vegetables: The plants are set
two in hill, and finally tbnned to one. The
hills arc two feet apart. About three cords of
horse manure are placed in four trenches, one
and half feet deep by one foot wide, running
the length of a house 1914 feet long. The manure
is covered with about seven inches of soil. Gu
cumbers are picked in 20 days from the sowing
of the seed. Mr.. Frost's forcing house is 25xl94
feet Each year he raises therein two crops of
lettuce, one crop of cucumbers and one crop of
French breakfast radisbes grown with cucum-
bers. The following are the approximate crops:
Lettuce 700 dozen each crop, cucumbers $4,000.
radishes 5000 lunches. He uses steam heat.
Plants raised from selected seed are so started
as to time that one crop follows another with
out intermssion.
An excellent addition to the milk given to
young pigs-and the mixture is also valuable
for pigs of larger growth-will be found in
the potatoes that are too small for the market.
Even where the largest varieties are grown,
and good cultivation, there will be some potatoes
which are not large enough to sell, and which
are not desirable for seed. The great majority
of kinds, especially when not highly cultivated,
have quite a proportion of unmarketable
tubers 1t pays well to save these small
potatoes and feed them to the pigs. Before
being offered to the pigs the potatoes should
be washed and boiled.
If farmer grows grain be has no need to
collect fallen leaves in the woods for either
bedding or manure. They are not better for
either purpose than is straw, and their manu-
rial value is not great The tree leaves that
fall in the woods are needed where they fall
not merely for manure for the trees, but to
form a mulch and protect the soil from deep
freezing The feeding roots of trees in forests
are near the surface. Even falls of snow and
a mulch OF leaves protect them so long as the
forest is left alone. The leaves are not worth
the labor of gathering for their manurial
value. They may sometimes be used by
farmers who have no straw for bedding pur-
poses.
Proper selection is one of the most import
ant items to those who desire to breed for
early maturity and the highest development
of the most valuable parts of the animal, and
the sooner we give that point our close atten-
ton the better. We can buy better hogs, our
ideal hogs, perhaps but we should all learn how
to create better hogs, how to so breed that the
good hogs we bug may be improved in their
progeny at our hands. When this is accom-
plished we will begin to see possibilities in the
swine industry that we do not now dream Of
Good News for Asthmatics.
We observe that the Kola plant, found on
the Congo river. West Africa. is now in reach
of sufferers from asthma. As before announced,
this new discovery is positive cure for asthma.
You can make trial of the Kola compound free, |
n Il