The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-01-13

breeding for the bacon hog The SOW
should be long and rangy of body, and
the male compact. Both animals
| should be rugged and have great STAN
ma. Inc american farmers could soon
breed good bacon hogs without great
trouble 1t would pay them handsome
ly to breed this class Of hogs, even
though they did not receive a cent
more pound for their pork, because
they would raise more hogs, healthier
hogs, and hogs with more stamina, bet
ter prepared to Withstand the hard
ships of shipping.
President A. B. Stickney, of the Chi
cago Great Western Railroad company,
SAID there We're just as many classes
or farmers as there We're of mechanics.
II was not to be expected that the
farmers of the Red river valley, who
nave devoted their lives to grain farm
lfg. should be posted on stock raising
ana breeding as were the farmers in
the southern part of the state, but af-
ter all 1t seemed to him that the Sc
cret of success for Minnesota farmers
lay not in raising all stock or all grain
Tor market, but to produce just the
right proportion of each on every
farm.
Several of the delegates again took
UP the hog cholera question
DR.. Reynolds said that If the Mime
sofa farmers would stop breeding hogs
and raise sheep instead for a year or
two, cholera would disappear and the
problem would be solved.
X. Nj. Alien, general manager of the
Standard Cattle company, Ames, Neb.,
discussed the fattening of cattle, and
led an interesting discussion on the
subject of breeding.
When the afternoon session was
called to order string orchestra 10
Gated in the gallery furnished music
for half hour, and after the addresses
OF the speakers during the afternoon
selections were given.
A PAPER ON SHEEP.
john A. Craig, professor of animal
husbandry of the Iowa agricultural
school at Ames, TO-, read the first pa
per on ITO What Extent Shall We
Keep Sheep" Prof. Craig said in part:
This is the time, the very moment, to
urge the Western farmer to adopt sheep
farming, to maintain and add to the fertility
CT MS 1arm Is there no lesson to him COM
Ing from the 4,300 abandoned farms of New
England? The bold Statement may not ex-
press much, unless we pause ard think of
the number of broken down lives that re-
ceived no recompense, and the home It's
that were snapped assunder TO furnish this
simple statement of statistics-4,300 abandon
ed farms. 1t is fact. that the farmers
OF the country, mostly those East and South,
are paying 10000, eco a year to maintain the
fertility Of their soils Only to ma,ntain it;
not to increase it. This amount of cash spent
for such purpose chould point moral to
the man who is yet free from its burden.
AS the result OF less than a century's farm
ing, about one-half of this fertile continent
is Daying this enormous tax.
The prevention of it lies in the recognition
OF two or three comparisons l shall lay be-
fore you. When man grows a bIshel of
wheat for market he takes from the soil
constituents OF fertility of mere value than
when he sells a hundred pound lamb. When
man grows bushel of corn for market,
Of more value than those removed in the
sale of lamb weighing a hundred pounds.
When man grows bushel Of oats for mar
ket it takes from the soil fcrtiliz.ng constit-
uents Of higher value than these removed
by the sale of seventy-fve pound lamb.
The soil has an account of 40 cents aga nst
the bushel of wheat. and it brings 81; the
lambs account with the IL fer ferii izing con-
stituents is less than 81 cents and it brings
S. The bushel of corn has removed in its
growth, that is in corn and stalk, So Gems
worth OF fertilizing material ard it brings
20 cents, while the account of the hundred
pound lamb is the same that just stated
To grow bushel of oats for market re-
moves p cents worth of the constituents of
fertility they sell in the markets, and the
oats bring % cents bushel, While the
seventy-five-p pound lamb cost the sell %
stock market.
How much will flock OF 1CO ewes add
to the fertility of a farm? Practice asserts
from experience that they will more than
maintain the fertility of a farm of 100 acres
provided most Of the products consumed
en- the farm and ten acres of clover is
Fart of its crop production. From flock
OF 100 ewes there should be at least SEQ
pounds of wool tC sch in the spring, and 100
fat lambs weighing Is pounds to sell in
the summer. If these 100 fat lambs are fed
one-fCurth of pound OF oil meal ON an
average each day Of their lives, this would
more than restore the cons ituents removed
in the wool and lambs.
The eve flock in the manner they produce
will ass;ss in maintaining the fertility of
should be grown to feed the ewes the clover
hay they need in the winter will greatly
To maintain and add to the fertility Of the
farm, is it possible to suggest in the light
of both science and practice two better
friends than clover End sheep. At the pre-ent
time, the best business partnership l can
suggest in the interest of farmer and farm,
is that CT Sheep, Glover & Co., as l am
satisfied that, when once established, it will
never have to assign, and it never will he-
dissolved because of any disagreement with
in the firm.
There is one feature abou. sheep farming
which makes it specially valuable for giving
fertility to poor, sandy soils, Or those that
are worn out. l refer to the fact that feed
ing crops off the land may be most sue
cessfully followed in the instance of sheep
Rye, rape clover, vetches and other crons
may be more economically fed directly from
the land to sheep, than any other stock. And
it is ccmpacted and the droppngs from the
sheep. give it fertility in the very best form
AS to- the extentCfarmers should keep sheep
as scavengers, l want to place on record a
disclaimer. Among my acquaintance W tn
sheep men, | do not know of a single sue
cessful sheep farmer who is keeping sheep
as scavengers and II the man VINO advocates
sheep husbandry with this an argument
will stop end think. he will realize that he
is advocating a policy that means ruin to
the focks and loss to the farmer
An interesting discussion followed
Prof. Craig's paper.
Prof. ,Shaw-Do you think, Prof.
Craig, that there is a state in the
Union Which presents better oportuni-
ties for the raising of sheep, especially
in the winter. than Minnesota?
Prof. Craig-No, I do not. All the
conditions in Minnesota are favorable
to this industry. and I doubt if there
is any state where sheep can be raised
to better advantage than in Mime
sofa.
Prof Shaw-Can we make more
money on our sheep than some of the
other states?
Pref. CRAIG will answer that uues-
ton by saying that you can, provid-
ing that screenings can be bought for
So per ton and corn 20 cents per bush
ell. I do not favor feeding wheat
screenings alone, but by mixing corn
and oil meal in the diet you have an.
excellent fattening mixture There is
no doubt but what corn alone is the
best for strictly fattening purposes.
Following this discussion between
the two professors of animal hus-
bandry, Prof Shaw discussed the sheep
as q scavenger or weed destroyer. as
opinion that few sheep around the
far 70