Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1900-11-06
TIE ocTossR BULLETIN.
STOCK FEEDING.


The subject under consideration thl.
month Is one OF great Importance to al
who are Interested In farming as a bust.
ness. For years it has been the desire
OF the board 70 encourage the farmers
OF the state 20 increase their herds all
they possibly could. The advice has
been Needed, and the numbers Of our live
stock have been constantly increasing
NOW, In some Instances, IL l. found that
under the lnfavorsble conditions for
crop production that have prevailed over
a large section OF the state the past year
farms are overstocked, and that, unless
unusual methods OF feeding are adopted,
some stock must be sold at a sacrifice.
Inis VIII lead 20 close feeding of all
folders, which may have any value, and
wedding out OF undesirable stock. We
stiil believe that Il Is right 10 encourage
more lively interes, In live stock. and
more full appreciation of their value,
as a means for marketing the farm crops,
and for maintaining the fertility OF the
soil. Courage 90 feed desirable animals
through the coming winter. even AZ a
loss, IL necessary, will surely bring its
| reward. Business men keep going.
many times, when the question with
them IL not. how much they can make,
but how little thsy can lose. II they
stop work on falling markets, they find
that when the markets turn, their CON-
petitor, who stsid in, has the customers
and they must begin again at the bottom,
step that will, probably, cost them far
lrnn hur ts T.
and well abreast of the procession.
The farmer, who, to-day, sacrifices
young animals which he has bred along
lines that seem 20 be OF value, thst
promise future of production. upon
falling market, will very soon wake up
20 the fact that he has missed a golden
opportunity To forward his business,
and establish himself permanently upon
a solid foundation. Courage in this di-
rection should be met with courage In
another direction, that OF looping of the
undesirable animals, aud IL sometimes
takes the grestest courage in this di-
rectiou. Rigid selection must be the
motto Of the successful stock feeder.
Let Us look our herds over carefully, re-
membering that good animal is cheap
az any price and that poor animal Is
dear at any price. Select accordingly,
place the poor ones on the market 10 the
best possible advantage, either for what
they will bring ss they are, or oy feed
irg and selling ourselves. Then we will
take careful survey Of the remainder,
and OF our supply OF fodder, aud lay our
plans accordingly.
Purchased grains must, OF course.
come into use, but they must ne pur-
chased and fed judiciously. Let the
roots, the vegetable wastes and every
thing about the farm, do their full share
in experimenting the HAYS and straws Of
the farm. Do not forget that an ounce
OF digestible food nutrients In straw, Is
ss valuable as IL Is in the best of hay
aud thst IL the straw i fed so that it Is
readily eaten, It's full value will be Sc
cured. Let Us not forget that every
thing that grows upon the farm that
has any food value can be used 10 good
advantage IL properly fed, thst 10 nearly
every instance, where trouble comes
from using any OF these articles, the
fault IL with the feeder and not with the
food. At prices thAt will probably pre-
vail this winter, oats will be found to be |
-
the best Of food for building bone and |
muscle, and for making milk. Corn
meSl il the cheapest producer OF beef. |
A combination of the two, with small !
OF cottonseed or gluten added, |
will make the best aud most economical |
purchased grain ration. Where the silo |
l. filled with well cared corr, the grain |
bill will be reduced and the full number |
OF animals can be maintained.
IL il most encouraging that all the |
products OF our farm animals are ex-
high AZ the present time. |
Mix Is selling la our cities AZ prices that |
hsve not been reached for many years, |
butter Is correspondingly high, and beef |
sells At very remunersrive prices. These |
will 20 far 70 help the cour- |
Sxeous feeder through the winter; and |
will place him, more than ever before, |
10 touch with the consuming world.
After having taken full advantage OF all
our available conditions 10 well winter
our farm animals, let Us take well 20
heart the lessons which present condi-
tions should afford Us. Among the fore
most OF these Is the fact that we are.
each year, getting farther and farther
from the hay crop as = sole dependence
for feeding stock. that variety % for
age crops is necessary, and that they
must form large part Of our coarse
forage in winter and summer. Next (
comes the lesson 80 often forced upon |
Us before, that pastures can not be re-
lied on for best results in summer feed !
ing, and that supplemental foods are as
necsss iry in summer a. 10 winter. Next,
that drought resisting crops are q
necessity each year, and that We have,
in the corn plant, one OF the best crops
for this purpose that the world affords.
Let Us also fully consider the fact that
more food nutrients Can be grown on
given area 10 corn than in any other |
crop We grow, that they can be grown |
cheaper In lsbor and fertility OF the soil |
than in any other crop; that. having |
grown them, they can he stored cheaper |
than In any other form, that space can |
be prepared for them In corn cheaper |
tn IN In any other form; and that, hav-
ing stored them In the silo, they come |
out with less waste, and in better condi- |
ton for winter feeding than in any other |
form.
Let us then as the season OF 1901 shall |
dawn upon us, resolve that we will do |
more with our land. that we will plow |
more, extend our operations, prepare |
ourselves with these most valuable foods. |
IL our farms have been capable of pro- |
ducing food sufficient for twenty animals, |
le, u look them over and see IL there Is |
not means easy at hand 10 make them !
capable ot feeding twenty-five. Let us
put every acre st It's best, have no vacant
rooms in our factory; put something.
everywhere that will add 10 our produc-
ing capacity.
Our golden tools are the plow, tioe
COW, the steer, and the sheep. Going
along with these and as basis for oar
work, will be corn, clover, the grss ses-
ard the supplemental foods that We
know so well how 70 grow.
The new field is productive.
The new field will stand the drought
The new field will not be al cted hy