Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1899-10-03
BOARD BULLETIN FOR SEPTEMBER,
THE BEEF ANIMAL.

AUGUSTA, SEPT. Is, 1899.
We have felt to call the attention OIL
our farmers to the growing Of beef steeri
aud working oxen 1t this time, because
In our Judgment there is room In ouI
state for large development OF the In
dustry withous 10 any way encroachinR
upon other lines Of stock husbandry.
There can be no doubt but that In 10
cslities untitled for dAirying the beef
animal may be produced alta handsome
profit. And In nearly oil sections there
are farmers 90 situated that they may
make the keeping OF farm team OF oxen
source Of income.
In order TO make beef growing q spec
ialty the same attention to breed charac-
teristics and tendencies must be observed
as In dairying or other branches OF live
stock growing. The same conditions
govern all classes. Having the requisite
stock, which must be chosen from among
some Of the beef breeds,- either In their
purity or as grades, the feeding may be
done largely from home grown food.
This growing and fitting beef stock and
working teams from the produce OF the
farm alone, IL a strong point 10 their
favor, and whenever the OK team can be
substituted for the extra horse there can
be no doubt Of the wisdom Of 40 doing.
The cheapuess Of the outfit, the small
or amount OF grain necessary, and the
constant appreciation In value, will ms
terially aid In lesseulng the cost Of pro-
ductiou Of the various crops.
a. 81 vhUg
trend OF prices Is likely to continue our
farmers who are fsvorably situated will
eudesvor to Increase their herds OF beef
animals.
Let II not be done, however, by work
Ing over dairy herds. Beef growing and
dsirying must be kept distinctly sepa-
rate, 10 best results In either are 10 be OBJ
tained. As we breed beef in, We breed
the dairy out. Two functions so diverse
as fiesh forming and milk production can
not exist to perfection 10 the same aui-
n, Al, and whenever food IL given TO AMI
mah Of indifferent producing capacity
there must Of necessity be undue waste.
GENERAL CROP AVERAGE FOR OXFORD
COUNTY.
Amount o! hsy crop, 80 per cent. Con-
dltion OF fruit, % per cent. Condition
of the potato crop, 81 per cent. Condi-
tion of the corn crop: sweet, Is per cent !;
yellow, Sc per cent. Comparative scre-
age of each sweet, 95 per cent yellow,
20 per cent. Considerable rust on pota-
toes reported from some sections, but
no rot.
GENERAL AVERAGE FOR THE STATE.
Amount OF hay crop, Il per cent. Con-
dition of fruit, % per cent. Condition OF
the potato crop, 30 per cent. Condition
OF corn crop: sweet, IS per cent; yell
low, ~ per cent. Comparative acreage
OF each sweet, % per cent; yellow, 30
per cent. Potatoes are generally reported
throughout the state AS rusting quite
badly, but not rotting TO any extent.
FARM MANURE.
One OF the surest indications Of thrift
upon Maine farm to-day is well kept
manure pile. II Ia essentially necessary
that the fertility OF our farms be main
tsined, TO a very large extent, ut least,
from sources that are inexpensive, that
NAV perhaps be called the by-products OF
the farm. Neglect to appreciate this fact
causes losses, which though unsppreciat-
ed, are very large, and which materially
reduce the net Income OF the farm. We
fear that In some instances this waste IL
so common as TO cause indifference,
while In some cases II Is so hidden ~ to
escape notice.
MANURE As ONE OF THE RESOURCES
or THE FARM.
Manure, from the amount OF fertilix-
ing constituents it contains, "a we'll rs
because OF Its mechanical beneficial effect
upon the soil, should be considered one
OF the resources OF the farm, and every
provision for saving Il and profting
from Il should be made as for any other
resource. IL Is only by so doing that the
most can be made from the farm and
the business conducted along lines Of In
telligenoe and profit.
Professor Roberts, discussing this
matter from n practical standpoint, sug-
gests that $3.50 is n conservative estimate
of the value of the manure produced
during seven winter months on q farm
carrying four horses, flfty sheep and ten
pigs.
Now II we assume that one-fourth OF
the value of manure IL lost by ferments-
ton, teaching and careless methods OF
70 the soil, which is perhaps
not unreasonable, the animal loss from
each farm would be s62 20, or more than
S5 90 a month. And this, too, without
taking into account the value Of the
humus In the manure or It's mechanical
effects, which on close soils are quite
large.
Ii should be understood that when
meat, milk, grain, hay, vegetables, fruit,
ETC., are sold from the farm or when the
manure produced Ia allowed to waste,
there Ia removed from the soil, certain
amount Of nitrogen, potash, and phos-
phoYic acid which must be returned
sometime or the farm will suffer deple-
ton of It's fertility and productiveness
This idea that farm manure should be
as carefully husbanded ss any other
farm resources may be hard TO put 10
practice on account of lifelong indifier-
ence to It's worth, but must prevail In
the end, 40 competition, growing shsrper
every day, demands closer attention to
details and wastes, that a cheaper sys.
tem of production may be brought
about.
We have sometimes feared that the
Of commercial fertilizers,
instead Of leading to more intelligent
use Of farm manures, as 1t would seem
thew should because Of the attention thus
given to plant food - commercial sub
stance, has added to the apparent indif-
with which this resource Is some
times regarded.
1t seems unfortunate II such is the
case, because the greatest value Of COM
mercisl fertilizers is only obtained when
they are intelligently used In connection
with and supplementary to farm man
urea, and then only when every avail
able means for adding to II is secured.
VALUE OF SOLID AND
LIQUID MANURE.
The value Of the liquid excrement Of
farm animals is often overlooked by
even the most painstaking farmers. II
il, In fact, really the most valuable part
Of the manure.
The solids contain, principally, the un-
digested portions Of the food, and from
their nature their fertilixing constituents
must be almost entirely In insoluble
form.
The urine contains these elements In
the same form, and also the wastes OF
the animal system, and being In liquid
form, all of its fertillzing elements. arc
readily soluble. Az 1t ID almost free
from phosphoric acid, Its chief value
being In It's nitrogen and potash, Il
should bc used In connection with the
solids In orderto obtain complete man
ure.
CUMBERLAND COUNfY.