The Southern herald., 1895-04-26

ala4l-4 e 4-4 ~ AA. Ala s1AAa=A- -sas4 j
papers in she s1alh that gaksz aa setiVs /
Interest Gu the practical Ines oi izrn
and rurnl life. In resent kzua Tie I
editor Diseases lt ienEth ths thres +
facts lll western earn IS ayaia pouring I
into the uPPer part q Saath Carolina I
b. the carload. and viii continue todo I
50 untl another crop Is harvested, +
and l-' that the cotton fzFmes pay /
about 50 per cent advance oa quoted 1
Chicgo PTioes for al the western eorn I
thsy bay. and O. that very many farm
ers IN that state viii engage in hog
raisiug and stock-raisinE en- an IN
usuaIly large scale this year. These /
tbs editor regards ss sufficient warrant
for the widcsFuezd interest which IS
being manifested in the matter Of ind
ing = cheap but satisfactory substitute
for that kind Of stock feed The
article reads.
We have published recently several
important articles on this subject ad
vocating and explaining the value Of
cotton seed, sweet and Irish potatoes
and sorghum cane for feeding hogs
Rev. J. q. Williams. in his letter
printed two days ago. strongly urges
the economy and other virtues Of Span
ish pindars for the same purpose. An
article which was reprinted yesterday
from the Vald0sta (Gal Times also
strongly indOrses ''pindars"-whether
Spanish or others was not stated-and
adds some highly interesting testimony
10 the value Of mulberries as an exclu-
sive hog food from April to Septem-
Der. MIR. J. w. Harrell, Of valdosta,
as reported, raised III hogs on pindars
and mulberries last year, did not
feed so much as fifty bushels Of
corn 10 them, and cleared about
$1,000. lie advises planting mulberry
trees-at least fifty-on every farm.
and il they will feed hogs five months
in the year we move to amend by max
ing the number at least 100.
We print letter from Mr.. ]. S. JEFF
fers, Of Florence, in which he adds his
testimony TO that already published as
to the merits Of sweet potatoes as a
food for everything on the farm" BIZ
Peds and quadrupeds alike, but with
special reference 10 its value for feed
ing stock Mr.. Jeffers. il will be noted,
has fed sweet potatoes for several
years, and speaks, therefore. with au.
thority Hog-raisers will be partieu-
larly interested in what he says about
the virtue Of mixed and boiled ration
of cotton-seed meal and sweet pota-
toes, "and some corn,n for fattening
hogs; and tobacco growers in what be
says about the value Of potato ground
well rooted up by hogs, for growing
tobacco.
The part Of the letter which will bt
Of most general interest probably /;
that which relates TO the use Of pota
toes as food for mules, horses ant
cows. To what is said about feeding
them 10 horses and mules we may adC
some interesting facts recently OBJ
tanned from an expert farmer living
near Charleston. This gentleman TOLD
us few days ago that he and hii
neighbors discovered the value %
sweet potatoes as a food for theil
farm stock about FIVE or six year,
ago, and were so well satisfied with
their first years experiment thai
their potato crop the next year wa
increased tenfOld Since that tlm,
they have fed their horses and mulei
throughout the winter, from Octo
Der to April, exclusively on a mixet
ration, of which sweet potatoes form
the larger part. The potatoes ar,
chopped and mixed with about fourtl
or a fifth Of their weight of "rice flour
the cheapest bran" that can be oh
tanned in this region. Any othe
kind Of bran will answer as we'll. tn
object of the mixture being TO provid
a due proportion OF 'roughness" will
the more concentrated food so as I,
promote digestion. From peck to
peck and half of the mixture is fe,
. daily to working animals, and a lum
of rock salt is kept in the feed trougl
! so they can get 1t whether they wan
. It, The object in chopping the pota
. toes and mixing them with tn
: bran is to compel the stocl
to eat both at once. ]
! the potatoes and bran or hay, or othe
! ''roughness," are placed separately i
the trough, the animals will eat tn
: potatoes greedily and exercise thei
: Judgment about eating the less al
4 tractive fare, and the digestive an
/. economical uses of the mixture will bt
? or may be, lost. The important advaI
4 tages Of the sweet potato as food fo
stock and hogs consist in the two fact
that it has been found to be a perfec
ly satisfactory substitute for corn, an
is very much cheaper than corn. Thre
bushels of potatoes will fully suppl
the place of one bushel of corn, and a
acre Of ground that will grow only
few barrels of corn will grow from Is
to 200 bushels of potatoes. Ian
that will not grow corn, moreover
will grow potatoes abundantly. 9Th
sandy ridges" says Mr.. Jeffers, ''ar
the best potato lands, and 1t would /
vain to say that they are the best cor
lands.
Mr.. Jeffers, it will be noted, est
mates that ''one-third of the corn" u
ually fed to mules and horses in th
winter months can be saved by feedin
potatoes whole, according to his plal
1t should be observed that no corn
fed during those months under I'll
plan we have described.
: Mr.. Jeffers also lays some stress O
the fact that the potato ration give
the stock green food" when it
hardest to obtain. This point d
serves particular notice, and ais
the suggestion that potatoes are fl
more nutritious than turnips for fee'
ing sheep, though turnips are largel
planted in Europe for that purpose.
is the fault Of our farmers, not of OF
, farms, that sheep-raising is not lare