The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1903-11-06

the expense several times over, leaving
out of the question the good to be derived
from the vacation. The man who works
almost entirely within himself fails to get
out of his occupation all he might: let
such a man, if he Is at all observant,
spend a day at a good county or state
fair and he will absorb knowledge that
will be worth many dollars to him., knowl-
edge that he will have an opportunity of
applying a dozen times during the year.
So with the women of the farm house
hold: they will get new ideas in house
keeping, in sewing and in that part of
the farm work with which they have to
do. Go to the fairs and ask questions. If
YOU see an exhibit Of potatoes that are
especially fine find out what variety they
are, the soil in which they We're grown,
| methods of culture, quality and quantity
of fertilizer and treatment generally. The
man who grew them will be proud Of his
success and be quite willing to tell how
ne accomplished it. So with other things,
and in the points thus obtained you may
| chance on the very one which will make
your own work in the same line success
full. No farmer can afford to stay away
from agricultural fairs.
Orchard Grass for Reseeding.
In reseeding meadows and pastures, par
ticularly the latter, orchard grass has a
value that is not appreciated. While
NilSl hiiiy w tcilbC ftSoAicH oS ~ ~ i1NN
;Ng value as compared to timothy, in re-
seeding one does not expect to obtain
[ arime hay, the main object being to make
he meadow longer-lived. Orchard grass
will stand hot and dry weather, splendidly
seemingly doing its best when other grasses
have burned out, growing and filling the
spaces left in good shape. Horses like
orchard grass fed just after cutting and
do well on 1t, which is not the case with
other grasses, as d rule. While seed may
be sown alone at the rate of three bush
els per acre and will make good pasture,
as d rule it is sown with clover and other
seeds using one-half to one bushel Of the
orchard grass. The writer has expert
mented with this grass for several years in
connection with clover for reseeding pas
lures and has found it by far the cheap
est seeding and the best results, on light
and rather sandy soil. IT. is well worth
testing If YOU are not familiar with it.
Using Surplus CockereIs.
The proportion of male birds in a flock
of newly Matched chicks is so large that
the question Of disposing of the surplus
proftably is a puzzling one, particularly If
the breed is high class. Naturally one does
not feel like putting such birds on the
carcass market in the ordinary way. If
it is possible to sell the cockerels to near
by farmers who want to grade up their
flocks of common hens, a fair price can
be had for them and some effort should
be made to let farmers know the birds
can be had. If, however, they must be
put on the carcass market now is n good
time to make caDons of April and May
Matched cockerels. a special set of tools
will be necessary to do the work properly
and these tools m&~ be obtained of deal
ers in poultry supplies at a low price. A
good plan is to practice on cockerels that
havc been killed for the market, so as to
obtain accuracy of touch and skill in US
ing the instruments. Even after working
on the live birds a few of the first oper-
ated on will probably die, but they win
not be q loss for, if killed in the opera
ton, they may be prepared for market In
the usual way. Capons are easily cared
for, are docile and, eating more than the
other birds, attain a heavier weight, the
flesh remains tender and they always sell
for a higher price thar other birds. Every
poultryman should learn how to caponiZe
successfully to make the most of his bus
mess.
Hogs Costing Too Much.
It is slowly but surely being understood
that the corn diet method of raising hogs
is an expensive one; not only that, but
unquestionably the all corn ration has
much to do with the comparatively weak
strain of hogs found the country through.
No one will question for Il minute the
value of corn in fatlening nor its value
as q part of the ration, but it is absurd
to claim that good hogs cannot be raised
as cheaply IN any other ration. Corn has
gradually been creeping up in price until
it now has a market value which takes
it out of the list of cheap feeds, and If,
as is claimed, our swine are given too
much corn for their own good, it is plain
that it is time to change the methods of
feeding. Experiments will prove to any
Intelligent man that in the future the
range must play an important part in
swine feeding with the corn to finish off
on. Any forage crop or grass that will
furnish good pasture will make good hogs
with a small ration Of corn daily. Get
into growing alfalfa which. seems pecu-
liarly beneficial to hogs Get lime into
the soil and try alfalfa again and again
until you succeed with it. Time was
when it was thought impossible to grow
this crop except in a limited area. We be-
lieve it can be grown anywhere In the
country except in the far south, and that
it Is the greatest forage OF pasture croE
known for hogs.
) A Handy Wagon Rack.
The ordinary rack such as is used on 8
farm wagon is very heavy and while il
: may be necessary to have such weigh
) when carting Of large loads is done, {
lighter rack readily handled by one mar
J would be a convenience for field loading
/ W-W
. NzZ=5z75Z5H
h .----M-.- ------Wr.