The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1905-12-14

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y piece which VIII fit snugly between the
sides, but instead of mailing in this end
piece arrange slots on either side Of the
trough, on the inside, SO that the piece
may be. slipped between the uprights form
ing the slots. To make this plan more
useful faston d handle TO this Y shaped
upright which will enable one to lift the
piece out readily when it is desired to
clean the trough. With this one end re-
moved it is an easy matter to thoroughly
scour the trough because all of the cleans
ing water may be swept out thoroughly.
The illustration shows each detail of this
trough plainly SO that any handy man
canfbuild it
THE ALFALFA rs VALUABLE.
One of our correspondents takes US to
task for: SO persistenty advocating alfalfa
an asks whats the matter with clover"'
There is nothing the matter with clover
for it is one of the most valuable plants
grown on the farm, but from a feeding
value. and alfalfa is considered only from
this viewpoint, clover has less than one
third the quantity Of protein in it per acre
than alfalfa The latter has nearly nine
times as much protein as timothy to say
nOthlrS OIL us Quiet loOo clcllIclllS eAlSlllS
in. liberal proportions. This is why alfal-
ia. isadesirable as a forage crop ever if we
do not consider its other great value of
several cuttings a season once it becomes
well established. It is true, Of course, that
IN some sections other crops are more val
liable than alfalfa; probably COW peas
are in the south, but we contend that
where alfalfa can be properly grown and
therelis stock to feed it to it is one of the
1pnct va 1119h1e forage CrODS which can be
raised and that ten years from now it will
be considered as necessary a part of farm
operations as the meadows.
a RATION FOR SWINE.
The argument that swine can be fed
more cheaply on corn than on anything
else is fallacious if one cunts for any
value the increased gain in a given period
under the other ration. True if corn is low
in price and other rations excessively high
then the corn is the cheaper food provided
the carcass brings a fairly high price. 1t
has been demonstrated repeatedly that in
most localities the ideal balanced ration
for swine during the winter is one-half
middlings and one-half corn meal varying
the ration by an occasional feed of corn
on the ear without, Of course, the mid
dlings. A still cheaper ration giving quite
as good results consists of one-third soy
bean meal and two-thirds corn meal pro-
vidcd the former can be bought at a fair
price. Itihas been proved beyond question
that an entire corn ration lays the animal
open to various diseases and that, beyond
a certain point, the exclusive corn ration
adds practically nothing to the weight of
the animal SO thai nothing is gained in
feeding more than is necessary to sustain
life. Try one of the balanced rations sug-
Eested and you will find it profitable as
others have.
EARLY WINTER POULTRY NOTES
Consider that the birds that have been
on the range all winter will miss the
abundance of fresh air during the first
weeks confinement and turn them out in
the yards for exercise every pleasant day
allowing them to stay there as long as
they wish and while they are out take the
opportunity to throw open all the doors
ana windows to obtain thorough ventila-
ton and to purify the house. If there is
no scratching shed arrange some plan
whereby the house can be made as light
as, possible during the day and especially
so that plenty Of sunlight will scatter it
self over the floor. Above all things sec
that the floor is dry at all times particu'
larly if it is an earthen floor. If it gets
too, damp TIL will invariably mean a bat
cold. Then see that the food consists Of
as great variety as possible trying to pro
vide the grain, the animal food and the
green food such as they have been used tt
on the range. Really this is of more i'm
portance- at this season Of the year thai
later after they have forgotten, to som'
extent, the comforts and joys Of the range
do not have the flocks too large; if on
has but one house it is better to divide i
for three flocks of twenty than to turl
them all in together. And, by the way
when doing this dividing see to it that tn
cockerel is with the hens and the olde
cocks with the pnlets.
ROOT CROPS AS A RATION.
While many, or indeed most, of>the'roo
crops contain considerable food value it /
mot claimed by those who advocate feed
ing them that they contain elements'whic
will make them a prominent ingredient i
the balanced ration. Not understandin,
this many ~dairymen, especially, have OF
jected to root crops for their cows. henc
have discarded a most valuable adjunc
to the ration for mich cows. !
their way roots supply TO the COW tn
same essential s~ucculent feed that doc
silage and there i%s'nothing better for keel
ing the bowels il perfect conditions t
say nothing of the value of roots as an ar
p~etizer. Take the average daily ration c
corn meal, wheat bran and Oil meal wit
the necessary ~roughage and a daily fee
of even q small quantity of roots will ad
greatly to the appetite of the COW, kee
her in excellent condition and MATERIAL
assist in increasing the quantity of mil
given. Add to this sort of feeding a clear