Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1900-10-25
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Pigs Before and After Weaning.


ton that pigs when fed with the SOW
before weaving made more economical
gains than the same pigs did after
weaving, the difference in favor of the
/ former method being 20 per cent. 1t
took 25l pounds of grain, half corn
meal and half shorts, together with
AS pounds OF creamery separator
skim-milk to produce 100 pounds of
gain with a SOW and pigs before wean-
ing, while the same pigs after wean-
| ing required 2SS pounds Of meal and
! $40 pounds of milk. This shows the
value of feeding the young pigs
| through the SOW.
Salt and Water.
Sheep naturally crave salt, as 40 all
far as We know their habits. Whether
the salt has any other duty to do in
the animal economy than 10 assist the
! digestion we do not know, but it IS a
we'll known fact that grazing animals
| seem to need it more than carnivorous
animals, and especially seem to need
it when their food has a large proper
ton Of woody fibre, more han they do
when having a succuIent food, like
green grass, roots and ensilage. But
with salt they need water Sheep
drink but little at time, yet in winter
feeding upon dry hay, they drink very
often. The water should be pure and
clean. Stagnant water is often one of
the causes that bring on stomach
worms, which kill many lambs, and if
not fatal to older sheep, will keep
them weak and IN opor condition.
The Best Pays Best.
The great difficulty in making farms
pay is that most farm crops cannot be
assorted into good, better and best.
They must be sold at so nearly uni
form price that there is 40 money in
it. In stock growing and in fruit
growing such wide differences in value
can be made that it is possible to
charge the very rich, who alaWys want
the best, whatever the best is, worth,
and, if it be not too easily pro-
duced, more than this. So long as a
man grows only for the universal mar
ket, he must sell at prices which even
the poorest can pay. But let him grow
something better than can be found
in the market, and he can set enough
higher prices to pay him double for
all his extra trouble. This is the
secret of getting rich in all kinds of
business. Money is to be got from
those who have it, and not of those
who have it not. Does this forget the
poor? Not at all. The struggle to
improve quality is always changing
its ground. The best of one year is
thus placed within the reach of all
few years later, and another best has
taken its place.
Barring accidents from untimely
frosts, it is the best fruit that pays
the most profit and that can be grown
most cheaply if the average of years
is considered. The labor of spray
ing with insecticides and with fungi
cides to make the fruit Fair, and the
further labor of thinning it, produces
so much more fruit every year that it
can be sold with profit within the
reach of all. The very rich will still
get the best and pay for it, but the
poorest will get more and better fruit
than they ever before anJoyed.-Mas-
sachusetts Ploughman.
Protecting Trees from Rodents.
In many parts of the country rab-
bits and mice are very destructive to
orchard trees. Usually the injury is
done to trees that are young and ten
der, and it is considered that trees
hat have begun to bear are safe from
such attacks.
Various devices have been used to
protect the trees from these enemies,
but most Of them have proved OF no
value. One man thought he had
found a sure way of projecting his
trees which was by planting cabbages
near the orchard and leaving the cab
bage stumps and large leaves through
the winter as food for the rabbits. 1t
worked all right FOR some years, but
finally the rabbits got past the cab
bage field and girdIed his young
trees.
Another man planted corn adjOin-
ing orchard, believing the corn
would give them all the food they
wanted. 1t seemed to project the Or
chard for time, but finally proved
harbor for mice, and rather increased
the danger to the orchard.
Here and there will be found an
orchardist that uses fish OIL or crude
petroleum as a protection, but eX-
perience has shown this 10 be dan
gerous procedure. Mineral oils es-
pecially are very likely to cause the
death of the trees.
One of the best known Fruit grow
ers in Illinois uses axle grease on his
trees and claims it to be effective, and
that it does not injure the trees. The
safest way is to make lath screen by
means Of coarse wire. The wires are
simply crossed between the laths and
thus the shield is woven 30 the size Of
the tree There should not be enough
room left between the laths to permit
the passage Of mice. This lath pro
tector is being quite extensively used.
Farm, Field and Fireside.