The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1897-11-11

this class of food. Oats, clover, Hungarian
etc, are all good silage crops. Some dairy
men object to clover silage on account of
the odor, but butter from cows fed on it
does not taste of the silage.
THE LIVE STOCK INDUSTRY.
Secretary McKeen spoke again in the
evening meeting, on "The Live Stock In
dustry." Successful husbandry depends
largely upon the live stock industry. He
who sells the crops directly from the farm
sells the raw material. A ton Of hay repre-
sents from S5 to So worth of valuable plant
food taken from the soil. If fed to animals
large percentage of this plant food is re-
turned to the farm. The farmer is succeed
ing best who is breeding and feeding most
intelligently. Farmers are thinking and
working along the lines OF scientific stock
feeding and breeding as never before. There
is utility ration in every section. The
farmer must determine what crops are to be
raised, and in what proportion they are to be
fed to the class of animals he is raising, to
produce the best results. There is no line
of live stock husbandry more beneficial to
the Maine farmer than dairying. There has
been great revolution in dairying from the
olden times to the present from the days of
hand work, setting cream in pans, the dash
churn, etc, to modern cooperative dairying.
There are good many creameries in Maine,
but Maine butter is not quoted in the mar
kets. Why is this? The returns of the town
assessors last April showed 5000 less cows
in Maine than one year ago. This should
not be So Many ereameries could make
more money by making cheese at certain
seasons of the year when there is surplus
OF butter on the market. 1t requires 10
pounds of milk to make pound of cheese
and 20 pounds of milk to make pound of
butter.
But there are other profitable lines of live
stock husbandTy, if intelligently managed.
There is room for large increase in the
number of sheep and horses raised in Maine.
Farmers should study the wants of the
market and then produce what the market
wants In sheep husbandry wool should
not be the first consideration. When the
price of wool went down Maine farms were
stocked with wool-producing sheep. The
mutton producing sheep is now in demand,
with wool production as a secondary matter.
There is good demand in the home market
for good lambs. Horse breeding can also be
| made profitable if farmers will produce good
horses of the kinds that are in demand The
day of 'the dairy belt has gone oJ. Dairy
ing is universal with us, and other lines of
live stock husbandry should be increased
throughout our State.
There are many wastes connected with
the live stock business, the greatest of which
is in manure. Absorbents are not used to
so great an extent as they should he 1t is
good plan to mix the manure from differ
ent animals. Some farmers keep all kinds
together in the barn cellar, keep the top OF
the pile fat, and thus prevent the liquids
from running off.
THE POULTRY INDUSTRY.
Prof. Gowell's talk on poultry was inter-
esting and contained many valuable points
II one has not the time to attend TO this
business properly he should not undertake
it, Tie man whose time and attention are
taken up with dairying or other matters
cannot DO much with poultry. The poultry
business is good either as a special branch,
or as an auxiliary provided it can he properly
attended to. Many sons Of Maine farm ers
! have gone out into the cities not from dis
| like of the farm or it's work but because
the farm did not offer the money induce
ments. Had these same young men started
| in poultry raising when young, a lucrative
business would have been made. The de-
mands on the poultry raiser now are for
| eggs, chickens and broiers. 1t costs about
5 cents to produce pound of pork, which
sells for or Is cents; about cents to pro
duce pound sf chicken, which sells for Il
| cents; and about Ia cents to produce a
pound of duck which sells for i3 cents and
upwards. For buildings for hen farm a
number of houses, 15x20 feet, accommodate
ing 40 hens each. is recommended They
can be made warm and comfortable for
about $40 apiece. They can be set at some
distance apart, and with most breeds of hens
there is no necessity for fenced runs. Mr.
| Gowell believes in the general purpose hen
but not in the general purpose COW. There
are no better breeds than the Plymouth
Rock and Light Bramah. If one prefers to
set the hens rather than to use the incubator
let him do it, but he is wasting the valua
Bile time of the hen. The same may also be
said of the brooder, but the waste is worse
as brooders are very cheaply made, easily
managed and care for the young chicks more
satisfactorily than the old hen ever can
| Chickens should be fed for growth; and all
kinds of poultry should be fed so that
they will be always hungry. For young
chicks gravel should be mixed with the
food. They shou Id be fed one-forming
| food. Pullets should be removed to the lay
ing pens as early as October 1st. Hens
should be made to work for their food in
order to give them exercise.
| At the close of Prof. Gowell's address
the audience was called upon for remarks
and in answer to a question James Libby,
Jr, of Unity said he kept small flock of
Leghorns, and that his method of feeding
was to dump bushel or more of grain in a
box and say "help yourself" This method
Prof. Gowell said, would be all right for
Leghorns, but would not do for the larger
breeds.
City Government Meeting.
A n adjourned meeting of the city cOunci