The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-08-26

at Agricultural College dcvotes a recent
bulletin to this pest
The Value of Underdraining.-when
uhueturalning on large scale
was first begun in England the government
thought so favorably OF this plan for i'm
proving the productiveness OF land that It
loaned money to farmers who had wet
lands which they wished to reclaim. The
rate OF interest was only 3 per cent. In
every case the land before drainage was
worth fully the sum loaned upon 1t and
as the draining made 40 more valuable
there was no chance for loss. 1t is said
that IN no case was this debt left unpaid.
Usually the farmers returned the lean
before the time agreed upon. In order to
save interest. This is a more paternaI
system than would be adapted TO our gov
eminent But there might be a way to in
directly encourage Undertaking by maxi
ing laws exempting the drained land from
any increase of taxation over the same
land not drained. II this extra value
| were not taxed II would none the less
| help TO increase the productiveness of the
| soil, and the gain 10 the entire community
would make its taxation more easily
| borne. In one way or another the ma
terials which support life come mostly
from the soil II is, therefore. for the
advantage of everybody that the soil be
made as productive as 1t can be.
Feeding Sheep With Cotton Seed
Meal.-Prof. I. p. Roberts. Cornell Elk
pertinent Stations: Sheep soon learn to
like cotton seed meal. Some will refuse
| II at first. as will also some cattle. In
the Cornell experiment station bulletin
No. a is a record OF feeding lambs weigh
ing on an average a triHe less than 60
pounds EACH. from Dee.es to April "a.
inclusive. The ration, for lot /, for FIVE
| lambs for a period of 40 days was:
Wheat bran. 1882 pounds. cotton seed meal.
isi. linseed meal. 49, hay COS, and corn
ensilage, 1,166 pounds. The gain was 26.5
pounds per head. AS most readers are
better acquainted with the gain In cat
| tie than In sheep, the weights. etc,
might be applied TO steers. Fifteen of
these lambs would equal a 900-pound
steer. Since each lamb gained &.5
| pounds, fifteen would have gained 397
| pounds. If a steer of 900 pounds be sub
stituted for the Is lambs Weighing 800
| pounds and the total gain DE divided by
/ 40, the number of days the lambs were
| fed. II shows a phenomenal gain Of 2.8
pounds per day for the steer
In another experiment. with nine lambs
| weighing sc pounds EACH fed 1903 days on
a highly heterogeneous grain rational mix
| ture of one pound of linseed meal, one
| of cotton seed meal ana ia pounds of
| bran, with hay and roots-the gain was
| 24.5 pounds per lamb for the entire. pc
| riod. Computing as before, the gain
| would be equal to 3S pounds per day for
the steer. While the gain made by the
/ lambs Is not In all RESPECTS compare BILE
| with a single steer Of equal weight, yet
| the comparison helps 20 show the large
| gain and the results OF foods contain
| ing a liberal amount Of cotton seed meal.
Roots cotton seed meal, bran and clover
| hay fed In connection with enough corn
| to slightly widen the ration, may be con-
sidered ideal for sheep feeding. At the
same station cows are fed grain ration,
one-half of which was cotton seed meal,
/ without any deleterious effects.
| How Old May Cows BE Kept?-It is not
| often that average cows are kept more
| than to their ninth or tenth year. But
this is by no means the limit for keeping
| animals which have proven especially
| valuable for milk or breeding. Such
| cows generally receive better treatment.
| and II properly cared for will breed and
/ give milk to an age twice as great as
is recorded. A case is instanced in Du-
chess Alice, calved Aug. q, 1861, and
| which produced II calves, the last when
% years old. Helen EvIe was calved Nov,
26, 1868, and produced 10 calves, the last
| when 10 years old. The difficulty In keep
| ing cows much longer than their 18th or
| 18th year is in getting food in winter
easily masticated and digested. Ensll-
| age supplies this need and those who
have extra valuable cows may profitably
| keep them several years longer II they
! Will provide ensilage for them in winter,
| Old cows are not worth much for beef,
and with animals that are not valuable
| for milk It may be as well to Kill them
when but little past their prime. But
we think there is profit in keeping the
! best mixers TO breeding as long as they
will. The heifer calves produced after
the COW becomes old have less tendency
| to fatten and greater milking capacity
than those they bore while themselves
| young and in full vigor.
| How to Have Grass.--No one can say
too much or too often that the great need
| of the south is grass. To get it writer
| In Farm and Fireside advises that you
begin by sowing early in the fall bushel
| Of winter oats and Is pounds of crimson
clover. AS soon as this crop attains its
| full growth. pillow It under and SOW the
/ Unknown field pea. When this crop at
tains its full growth put on a heavy roller
and press the crop down firmly. Then
get sharp rolling Golfer and weight
1 down your plow beam II necessary, so
as to put the crop entirely under. Reseed
| once more with the crimson clover and
/ oats, and when the crop is removed plant
to cotton or corn, and then seed down to
| grass.
Seed Wheat-We know not for a Ger
/ tainty that a great deal Of the wheat
rust is brought on our farms through the
seed, and the spores OF the rust are held
over from year to year In the seed. Seed
|
rust has been prevalent should always
be subject to the hot water test The seed
we purchase from seedsmen should also
| be treated in this way, for we know not
| how many rust pores may be IN the seed
| TO begin growing when the favorable
! conditions are given. The hot water test
/ is the only sure way Of killing rust. II
done properly, there is no danger Of in
/ turing the vitality OF the seeds while
/ all the spores Of disease will be thorough
~ destroyed, writes an American Guilt
yator correspondent.
| The Pckin Duck.--For pleasure or profit
no duck mis- the bill better than the Pekin.
/ They can be raised without a pound Of
/ water. and their meat Is the swseicf there
/ for; but the duck ~ thereby deprived Of
that which makes hfe most worth the
living. Ducks m n pond make "a picture
Of happiness There Is a growing demand
fof ducks; either alive Or dressed, and
especially FOR dressed spring duckfs but
for the average farmer u 81 peHi % hatch
I ITEM ga Mnv ana Keen them for the f5fafor