Birmingham state herald., 1896-02-16
BIRMINGHAM SLATE HERALD. SUNDAY FEBRUARY 1o,

soon the young heifer in her first year of milking, as this habit, formed in early life, will cling to her subsequently. She should continuously have ration to de- velop muscle and the milk organs-a di- luted or extended grain ration instead of concentra ted foods
 Whether the water for the cows should be artificially warm may depend upon circumstances. If there be a good stream of water. which does not freeze there will be little necessity for warming, but if the supply be so small that it cannot be oth- erwise kept from freezing the warming will be found profitable.
 sheep worth $5 should pay a yearly profit of $5. Thus there should be profit of 100 per cent on farm suitable for it's keeping. Where mixed farming is praeticed and hay, grain, roots and straw are produced and permanent pasture maintained 100 sheep could be well kept on 100 acres, and even more than that fed well during the winter season. ;
 It does not pay to feed two dairy cows and get a product in milk which should be received from one. Let there be no fear lest there be an over production of good butter. Whatever the grade of the stock, the best results always follow the best treatment, and kindness Is dollars and cents to the dairyman. We must not oyercrowd if we would avoid tuberculo- sis
 
 is no better plan than to turn attention to dairying, because in producing butter less of soil is removed. There should be a choice of feeds with reference to the manure products, and all the liquid ma nures should be caught and preserved. Let there be some good absorbent to fix the amonia in the liquids; none better than land plaster. .-e ....-
 The next thing to plenty of good grass for sheep is that they should have free access to salt. If not kept where they can get at it at any time. it should be given them regularly every day. They are inveterate lickers of salt and 1t Is con ducive to their general health. It is the best of remedies for SCOUTS and other sheep. diseases. Do not stint them while it is so plenty and cheap.
 All farmers cannot. produce pure bred stock of the highest excellence for breed ing, but all farmers can and should pro cure pure bred sires and grade up all stock on the farm to the top market prices for the best home and export mar kets. Pure bred stock of all the breeds has become so cheap andsis so generally introduced throughout the states that no farmer has an excuse for breeding to anything but the best
 The practical, observing farmer Is learning that the act of blowing is not merely mechanical operation, while the great bulk of plowmen the world over are WlluOul d SlnSle luGa upOIi lnlS pOlll. Soils vary and seasons vary. Although many have more of less defined ideas as to the necessity for variation in treat ment of these soils, in time and manner of blowing and working for the best re- suits do even the most intelligent prac- tice the best they know.
 Plant broom corn seed when the ground is dry and warm, and on good land which is free from weeds. Let the rows be 31s feet apart and the hills feet; if in drills leave the plants or inches apart. Too close planting will not allow full develop ment of the plants, while too much room makes the brush coarse and of inferior quality. Give clean cultivation.
 Bulletins from the agricultural exper iment stations should constitute valua- ble additions to the farm library. The husbandman who fails to keep well abreast of the times as to the compara- tive value of the various modes of plant ing, cultivating, feeding, etc. under the varied conditions which confront him in climate, elevation. soil, moisture. is a disadvantage.
 The world moves. Old methods have passed away. We do not stop now to count the grains we plant. We do not plant in the moon any more. We are not satisfied with full pail of milk if 1t con tains but little butter. Two blades of grass must now grow where not one for merly grew. Improved machinery and advanced methods now hold sway over the agricultural world
 As compared with years ago we have a new hog. He Is new in his makeup, lives fast and dies early for profit, and hence is handled differently than he used to be. The demands on him are new also. Instead of year and half old he must mature In seven or eight months. A writer on this subject says that now the feeding weight of the hog of com ;c nf or $50 as formerly. This writer says that hogs of 300 pounds of dead weight and upward could hardly be produced with out their being wintered over. This took all the guiding off the ginger bread, un- less prices were abnormally high. But hogs weighing 175 to 200 pounds can be brought to salable maturity in the course of one season. An early spring litter of them can be fitted for market before cold weather begins to make feeding unprofit- able. Then. when the young pigs are sold off, there Is only the breeding SOW, or possibly two of them, to keep over winter and she or they can roam the barn yard. picking up waste grain. work ing over manure and taking comfort be- side the straw stack.
 How to Prepare the Land and Set Out On
 ion Plants.
 As is the case of strawberries, the
 
 little more care and patience than with potatoes and collards.
 It is better to set out on slightly raised beds. rather than on the level. It should be remembered that the onion in bulbing should have no interference from the soil 1t does better when allowed to ma ture entirely above the soil. So in set ting on beds raised to inches above the level. it is easier to draw the soil away from the plants along in April or May unhurt leaving a depression about them for the water to settle in after hard rains in the spring.
 With any implement that Is most handy throw up beds that will give the onion rows a distance apart of 2h or 2 feet. Then run a roller along the beds to firm and level them. In setting out the plants use dibble and do not let the stem of the young plant be inserted deep CT than F an inch.
 Press the soil to the roots as firmly as the hand can do 1t. In taking up the plants from the seed bed. 1t is good idea to bunch a dozen or more and clip the roots off evenly with scissors, not leaving more than an inch or so of roots to the plant. It is not requisite, but gen. orally 1t Is a help to grout the plants