The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1894-12-20
OUR RURAL TOPICS.
Some Practical Suggestions FOR Our
Agricultural Readers
Skim MiIk for Pigs.

Y Nhhh hitF~ tnF
I'm rearing pigs skim milk will be found Of
the greatest advantage; in fact the most
profitable way to dispose of the dairy ofTsl"
is to keep Digs. Pigs born in February OF
August usually thrive best As soon rs tho
little pigs begin to feed. which will be-
in about month, they should be allowed
some skim milk and a little oats. They
should be fed out of reach of the sow
either in the next pen. or the SOW can be-
turned ont for a while in the yard or field
while they are feeding Skim milk is good
for the sow too; q couple Of pIDts heated TO
about 90 degs. Fahr. and mixed with sharps,
may be given to her after farrOwng aud
may often be given for some time after with
benefit. The quantity Of milk given 10 he
bonhams may gradually be increased until
they are ready to be weaned this will BE-
when they are about two months old.
Ifthe pigs are intended for pork as soon
as they are weaned they clu be fed to iatten.
Skim milk, with few peas or oats may be
given, and later on barley meal with mtlk or
whey. B0nhams will also thrive very well
on Indian meal boiled; it should be mixed
with skim milk, aud given to them warm.
Pigs should he fed often, and only as much
should be given at a time as they will eat
up. A mixed diet suits them best. and as
they will clear up any kind Of refuse from
the house or dairy, no waste should be al
| lowed. All scraps, etc, ought to 20 into the
pig trough. Boiled potatoes with milk is
also very good food. If properly looked
after, pig ought to be fit for bacon az eight
months. The sty should be kept clean,
well ventilated, but free from draughts, and,
if at all convenient, it shouId face south
From Mss Humphreys prize report to the
Irish Dairy Association
Berkshires.
The Berkshire is large, active, vigorous
animal. When mature they often weigh
| from 500 to $50 pounds Their bone struc-
ture is slender in proportion to their size,
and for this reason they are somewhat
| liable to accidents from broken bones. They
/ are, in general, valuable breed, either pure
or crossed with native sock. The color
should be black with white feet, white stripe
on the face, and white tip on the TAIL The
/ face is short, fine, well-diShed and broad be-
tween the eyes; ears erect or inclinng for
| ward, stiff at base, but so thin and delicate
| as to tremble and shake at every motion of
the animal jowl heavy, neck short and
thick, shoulders deep and full, back broad
and straight or slightly arched, long ribs
well sprung giving rOundness of barrel, and
short-ribs long and spreading, giving breadth
| and fulness of lOin. The hips are long,
heavy, round and deep, bearing their flesh
| well down to the hooks tail fine, small and
set well up to the racial curve; legs short,
| straight, fDe-bOned and set wide apart, body
medium to long; hair fine, rather thin; skin
elastic and pliable.
At the Pennsylvania Station.
| The Pennsylvania Experiment Station has
made several valuable experiments this
year. One of the experiments was to test
| the vaule of food known as "eottonseed
| feed, )" composed of one part cattonseed meal
| and five parts eottOnseed bulls by weight.
| The station found that while the chemical
composition of the feed correspondent with
| the claim in its favor, its digestibility was
| comparatively low, being somewhat less
/ than that of clover or timothy hay, bat
| greater than that of corn-fOdder. At the
prices of the feed in the market q pound of
digestible food was found to cost "a per
cent. more than in timothy or clover hay,
and 20 per cent. more than in corn. 1t is
| to place such facts before the farmers that
| the station engages in experiments of the
| kind in order to enable them to select the
/ least costly food.
| The station made two tests with dairy
| cows, and found that a ration of cotton
seed feed and bran produced Is per cent.
less milk and 10 per cent. less butter than
| one of cnrn-fodder, mixed hay, eorn-meal and
| cottonseed meal, containing the same amount
| of dry matter. The estimated net profit
per day was II per cent. less on the cotton
seed-fodder ration than on the hay and fod-
/ der ration. In second experiment q ration
of cottonseed feed, BRAN and gluten meal
| produced 10 per cent. less milk and six per
cent. less butter than a ration of clover, hay,
corn-meal, bran, and gluten meal containing
| two and n quarter pounds more grain and
| three fourths of pound more coarse fodder.
The net profit per day and head in this case
was four per cent. less on the elOver-hay
ration than on the other, but it is probable
that the cows on the eloyer-hay ration were
somewhat Overfsd.
The results of the experiments lead to the
conclusion that eottonseed feed is too expen-
sive, in proportion to the amount of food
contained, to successfully compete on equal
terms with ordinary dairy foods at average
prices An incidental result of the expert
ments is to illustrate the possibilities of
profit in dairying.
Onion Fertilization.
Onions need very liberal manuring with
plant food that is rich in all three of the
elements which we seek in manure, but
especially in nitrogen and potash. There
are some crude forms Of plant food which,
decaying slowly, prolong the growth OF the
crop so late in the season that the frost
catches them Ia green state This IS
especially true of the sea manures. 1t is,
therefore, not wise to manure too heavily
with these, yet the crop must be very llber-
arally fed to insure success, but good barn
yard manure should replace half the sea
manure, which should be well rotted into
the barn manure before applied
No man should attempt to raise tirSt-
class crop of onions with less than ~ TO 10
cords of rich manure to the acre. where ma
nure alone is depended upon. A better plan
is to use the value of three cords of the ma
nure in fertilizer of the character described
above, to be raked in just before the seed is
planted. Where the land does not suffer
from too much water in the soil, with such
manuring as / have specified there is but
very little danger from solutions, provided
the Land Il nnk entireIY new 10 onions and