The National tribune., 1894-10-11
OUR RURAL TOPICS.
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers
FatteninR Horses.

If II Is honestly done there IS no reason why
the owner of a horse who desires to sell is
should not put it in the shape that best
meets the demands of customers. BY hon
estly doing 1t, we mean putting on flesh
without medicines or high continental
feeding, and putting it on under conditions
of exercise that will insure its staying
quality, and that it is not mere blubber of
fat, mi furious to the wind and endurance of
the animal. For this purpose many horse
men use moderate quantities of flaxseed
jelly; some employ steamed Oil-meal. II
moderately fed these assist in digestion and
keep the bowels in good condition, putting
on a glossy coat While. when moderately
fed with other stable grains, oil-meal aids IN
the formation of fat ii of itself is a good
muscle-making feed. Many Woodworking
horse would be all the better for haLdful
of Oil-meal at night, even when there is NO
intention of putting him in sale condition.
BY judicious individual feeding of good
grains, with Oil meal, a bunch of horses.
even when somewhat run down, can be pat
in sale condition in six or eight weeks.
There is not much use in trying to get a
good price for thin horses, or is there much
business sense in letting them 20 for what
they will bring, letting somebody else make
the profit that can he made by simply put
ting Oh another hundred pounds or so of
flesh. We have said that the feeding
should be judicious, individual feeding. By
! this we mean that the owner who Is prepar-
ing them for the market should carefully
study the feeding capacity of each animal
and feed accordingly. Hardly any two
horses in the same lot will do equally well
on the same ration. There are many men
throughout the West who make business
Of gathering up thin horses and preparing
them for market, and even under
present market conditions it is found
to be profitable. The reason is that
while all horses are low, there is always
sufficient margin between thin horses and
those that are in prime sale condition to
make it profitable to put the flesh on. The
business IS whole may not be profitable
one, but for the owner Of the horses who
has raised them, the sale is more profitable
in good condition than in bad condition.
Assuming that money is to be lost in any
event there is less less if the horse is put
in good condition before it is sold. IF men
can make . profitable business gathering
up thin horses and conditioning them for
sale there Is no reason why the farmer
should not condition his own horses.
1t is comparatively easy to put the road
and carriage horses IN sale condition. They
is moderate amount of good, ssIid flesh
and an absence of all gothic points" The
task of getting heavy draft horse into
good shape for sale is more difficult, because
larger amount of flesh must be put on,
and buyers seem to want drafters with
more fat tkan almost any other class of
horses. Of course, the seller must meet
the buyers demands Or suffer for it. The
question of the feeding of draft horses is
greater in degree, but the principles are the
same. The feeding should be good grain,
fed with Oil neal and with exercise enough
SO that ths flesh will not disappear the first
time the animal takes good sweat. Many
feeders use a continental food with good
results, provided care be taken TO use it
Observation-Disclosures Stsckman.
Management of Cows.
Is it best with dairy of COWS giving milk
in Winter to keep them in the stable con-
tinueusly or let them cut good portion Of
each day? OF course the real essence of the
question applies to which Of these two sys-
TENS will bring the most milk. From all
the evidence adduced thus far, we have no
doubt that continuous stabliag will cause
the largest milk few, but whether il is the
best practice all other things considered, is
not yet Sc clearly settled. IN this, as in all
other matters of dairy management, the best
common sense aud cow sense should be
united. A clear-headed NAN keeps cows for
the best profit He should always study
for that practice which is best fer the cow.
Any method that puts her in the best milk
producing condition is the best way for him
Whether the COW in full flow Of milk should
remain long in the stable depends very much
on the character of the stable. The owner
should first question his stable, and that, too,
in the light of the best sanitary judgment.
1t is common sense to say that If the stable
is not fit for the preservation of human life,
it is not fit for COW life. If it would poison
the owner to live in it, it will poison the
food the COW gives for human support
To make a stable thoroughly dry, clean,
wholesome, well lighted, and ventilated is
not an expensive job. Indeed, the worst
stables are invariably the most costly, for
they rob the cow of her efficiency, and that
is a constant drain on the purse of the owner.
If we propose to keep the cows continuously
stabbed % to % hours out of "a, we should
be guided by the following questions: Are
the cows kept well bedded? Is the stable
well drained and thoroughly dry, kept free
from dampness caused by the breath of so
many cows and the urine? Are absorbents,
like land plaster or muck, used daily to take
up the volatile and irritating ammoniacal
gases? Have We provided at least 1000
cubic feet of air space to the cow? This
can be easily and chesply done by making
the stable-room higher. Lots of basement
stables are not more than seven feet high,
when they should be 10 feet.
In all this talk of stable management, we
must never put our own convenience and
saving of time above the health and COM
fort of the COW and the purity of her milk.
If we do we commence to figure at the
wrong end for our best profit The wise
dsiryman always looks to what is best for
the cow, for in the end he knows that such
management will prove best for him.
HoardS DairymaD.
Cost of Raising Crops.
In response to inquiries sent out some time
ago by the Agricultural Department as to
the cost of raising wheat per acre, the five
thousand and more replies received tend to
illuminate this subject. The replies covered
every State in the Onion, and it was found
that the average cost of raising WHEAT was
S11.48 per acre. but the two extremes were
very different. In North Dakota it costs
only $7.48 per acre, and in Massachusetts,
$3.50 per acre. The average yield for the
whole country was less than IS bushels but
the two extremes were just as significant
here. Nearly the same is true with corn.
In Massachusetts corn costs S43.5S per acre,
and in North Dakota only S.. 60, and the
averaoa for the country. Sl171, .