Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1905-03-01

covering, and soon producing nm I'M.
slightly appearance known as "scaly
legs" Kerosene is the usual remedy,
and is the proper one when rightly APP
piled. as 1t does the work effectually,
but improperly applied 1t sometimes
causes serious trouble. The proper
time to apply the kerosene is in the
daytime. and the proper way 10 to
either dip the shank in or paint the
remedy on with small brush; in
either case care should be taken not
to allow the oil to reach the body.
Feeding the Hozs New Corn.
The idea that cholera will be
brought on by the feeding Of new corn
to hogs is not correct. although 1t 10
snfe to sag that the effect of the new
corn on the system of the hog lays tho
animal open to attacks of any disease,
and II cholera is within reach the ami.
NAL is likely to contract It, The best
plan Of handling the corn problem for
hogs Is to carry over sufficient 80 that
the seasons corn need not be fed until
fully matured, but IL this cannot be
done the next best thing is to buy old
corn rather than run any risk OF feed
ing the new crop. Even when the
new crop seems well ripened. 1t must
be fed with care. Use 1t sparingly for
awhile. putting other grains with It
and only increasing the quantity Of
the corn as one sees 1t is doing no
harm. Care in feeding new corn, ms
suggested, may mean the lives Of the
hogs.
History of sheep.
OF all domesticated animals the
sheep has. from time immemorial.
been most closely associated with
mankind. An erudite author, says
Outing, sixty years ago. having labor
iously collated an assortment Of alln-
slons to sheep made by sacred and
profane writer's. concluded that the
history of these animals is 30 inter
woven with the history of man tina,
they never existed in wild state at
all. Biblical history from the time OF
Abel Is full of illusions to the fiocks
which formed the chief possessions of
the Jewish people and their neighbors.
The spoils of war and the tribute of;
vassal kings largely consisted OF
sheep. Thus we read that Mesha,
king Of Moab, was sheep master.
and rendered unto the King of Israel
100000 lambs and 100000 rams with
the wool. Moses after his victory over
the Mldianites obtained as loot no
less than 675,OOO sheep. and long be-
fore the Christian era sheep were cul-
tivated in western Europe. Spain and
Italy possessed them from an UNI
known period, although long after
Rome was founded the inhabitants
had not learned how to shear the
fleece; and until the time Of Pliny,
the practice Of pluckIng 1t from the
skin was not wholly abandoned.
Disking Pastured Alfalfa.
In reply to an inquiry, Professor
Ten Eyck says:
think 1t would be advisable to disk
the field of alfalfa which You de-
scribe, Immediately after cutting and
taking OF the crop. or II the alfaffat
has been pastured closely 1t may not
be necessary to cut 1t, although the
cutting will usually cause 1t to start
more readily and evenly. After pas.
turing all summer, doubtless the soil
of this field is firm and compact and
needs loosening. If the ground is rea-
sonably moist or II You can disk soon
| after rain, the surface can be loos-
ened and soil mulch produced which
will aerate the soil, conserve the soil
moisture and favor renewed growth
of the alfalfa. Our methods Of disk
ing alfalfa at this station is to set the
disks rather straight and weight the.
harrow with rock. causing it to cut
two or three inches deep. We prefer
to cross-disk and follow with the
smoothing harrow, in order to break
the clods, level the surface and leave
good soil mulch. The harrow also
assists In pulling ont and destroying
the crab-grass and other weeds to
some extent.
AT this station We have practiced
disking after each cutting during the
senson with no bad results. but as a
rule prefer to disk alfalfa early in
the spring or Immediately after the
third or fourth cutting in the latter
part Of the summer or early In the
| fall.
Filling the Ice House.
1t costs about $25. often less,
to fill 1OO-ton ice house. In the
summer with Ice at % cents per 100
pounds, 1t would cost 500 for 20 tons,
and every farmer with medium sized
dairy will use this much. Ice can be
stored in a wood shed, tool shed or
any good building. Ice will not keep
as well in these buildings as in an
ice house, but they can be used. re-
member, we put up ice once in
building with tin roof and every
body said it wouldn't keep. But IL
kept nicely.
1t is best to build an ice house In
the side OF hill, putting drain in
tic bottom, to carry off the water that
accumulates. The Ice should be nut
up while it is very cold, ms when It
is thawlng the ice is wet and bad to
handle. The ice should be sawed out
In squares just large enough 80 that
one man can handle block easily.
Ice hooks should he used to pull the
blocks Of ice out of the water. The
ice should be laid III solid mass In
the ice house. pounding pieces of ice.
in the cracks and joints so as to make.
tile mass solid. Snow Is better IL II
can be had.
After layer has been put down,
cover with snow an inch or SO deep,
then begin laying the next layer. II
there is no snow this may be omitted.
After the house is filled, throw two or
three buckets of water on the ice to
wet it so that it will freeze in solid
mass. 1t is then ready to cover with
sawdust.
| Place about foot of sawdust an