The National tribune., 1895-06-06
OUR RURAL TOPICS.
Some Practical Suggestions for Ou
Agricultural Readers
Feeding Steers in summer.

ilster than steers at pasture Charging 40
cents per week for pasturage per head made
the cost of feed 10 produce pound of live
weight about seven and o half cents. COM
pared TO eight and three-quarters cents for
the soiied steers, including their fodder at
iuil market prices But the manure in the
latter case was worth three and tIree-foUrtbs
cents, making the net cost Eve cents per
pound gain. If the manure EQUALS the cost
of attending to the fed steers, Summer SOIL
ing appears to be as cheap as pasture. This
Is the final result Of five years work with
the steers at the Massachusetts experiment.
station 1t suggests the advisability of COM
binlng the two methods, by feeding a little
cottonseed meal, wheat bran, gluten meal or
corn meal whichever gives the most aetuaI
nutnment for Its cost to the steers at pasture.
increase the ration toward Fall, so the steers
can be quickly finished Off when desired.
Keeping Fowls Out of the Garden.
The trouble that many farmers have in
Keeping fowls out of the garden is because
they do not provide = substitute. It il
natural for hensto seek a busting place where
they can clear off any veFmin that may be on
them, or without regard to this to take a
| dust bath, which is their way of keepipc
skin and feathers in healthy condition. A
small place near the hen house should he
plowed and sown with grain. 1t need be-
only few feet square, and NAV be dug with
spade IN few minutes Then scatter and
lightly cover enough grain 10 keep the fowls
busy. 1t IS astonishing how much of the
time this rolling place will be occupied and
the garden viii wholly escape When the
hen goes 70 the garden she makes directly for
the beds where the choicest seeds have been
soWn, for here the ground has been most
thoroughly pulverized Give the hens az
good place outside the garden, and there
will be no trouble in growing garden truck.
no matter how many fowls are kept. But the
strawberry patch must be inclosed The
fowls 90 there for different purpose. and
when they get q taste of the fruit it is hard
TO keep them out, however high the in
closure.
stopping Cows.
There is a general belief that sloppino cows
greatly increases their flow of milk. and that
the resulting yield is CORRESPONDENCE Door in
butter fats; and to prove or disprove this. the
Experiment Station at Guelph, Ontario has
for the past two years been experimenting
along this line, and to their surprise there is
practically nothing in the belief The cows.
when fed the grain in form of slop would. if
fed once day, give slightly lower, but not
uniform, percentage of fat, about Oh of /
per cent; but in every instance where slop
was fed twice day there was a marked fall
ing off in milk yield.
These tests were conducted in periods of 30
days each, so as to get the full effect of the
feed, and In the general averages the Dry
grain fed cows came out ahead
AS to the variation of fat content of the
milk, the sum total of all the averages showed
that there was no more loss in the end than
the variations found in the fat content of
COWS fed dry foods, and the sum total of two
years experiments is against the idea that
sl0p food increases the milk yield If any,
thing Is to be deduced from the tests it is that
cows gave less milk if the stopping was very
marked, and The percentages Of las yielded
were actually inconsequentiaI 80 far as change
was concerned in Gather case
The conclusions are that the best "sIopD
that can be fed to q COW is a good ration of
corn, 1lage, roots or uncQFed grain folders.
md the drink that a COW has is best in the
form OF good water governed by the inelina-
lion OF the animal to drink.
Western Peppermint.
The growing of peppermint has been limited
heretofore to Wayne County, N Y. and
Wayne County, Ind, but according to the
seattle wash. Post-IntelIigeteer it has been
ound to DO we'll IN that State, and a COM
oany has been formed to grow this and other
,OOts near Kennewick, east of the mountains,
md an importation made of about 100000
'OOts, said to be the first of the kind ever
brought over the Northern Pacific Road. The
company has already about 10 acres planted
n peppermint and spearmint. The roots do
veil there, and there Is largo demand for
he oils.
The roots are worth about $50 per acre.
IN old mint grower at the East writes to hsa
on at Spokane that he can now raise only 10
ounds of fluid where formerly he obtained
5 pounds.
Cutworms.
In preparing land for melons in the future.
he Department of Agriculture says Grow
rs Will lind 1T of great advantage to pillow in
be Fall-early rather than Iate-and leave
he land bare during the Winter. Then. in
be early Spring, as soon as the grass begins
D come up IN adjoining fields sprinkle here
nd there throughout the field which is to be
lanted to melons. buteheS OF grass, or any
Their green vegetation which has previously
cen poisoned by sprinkIing with Paris green
solution. Such of the cutWOrms as NAV
e present in the land will feed upon the
egetatiOn, and will be killed 1t will also
ave the effect of destroying many of the
ire worms.
The Farm Garden.
The garden is always the richest part Of
lie farm, and as it is often much smaller
ian is required, the land is frequently
ade to do double duty by growing two
ops This can best be done when the first
OPP is peas. These plants do not exhaust
e soil, but actually add TO the nitrogen il
ntainS by decOmposing air in the soil by
cans of nodules on the pea roots. A crop
late cabbage may be planted between
VS. of peas, and the pea vines be turned
'wn and covered while still green after
70 earliest peas have been removed. The
"a vine when green rots very rapidly if COW
ed with soil, and it supplies the kind of
ant food that the cabbage requires to make
good crop.
Apples from the West.
Eastern apple growers must expect an in
EASING competition nos only from the mid
, West but from the Mountain States also.
most before it was realized that the region
adapted to any sort of agriculture, the