The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1907-09-04
Two Big Swindles-Stock Foods and
Fertilizer Formulas.

ing a weekly letter for the Progress
sive Farmer. The last one discusses
some questions Of interest to farmers
and stock men, as fOlloWs:
A correspondent from North Caro-
lima writes "Wi1l you please tell me
what you think about the advertised
stock foods? The agent is making
wonderful claims for one of them.
Will the use of the stock food keep
hogs free from worms? (2). Will it
prevent their roofing? CD. Will hogs
make third more gain on same
amount of corn if fed the stock food?
CD. Is there anything just as good
that can be purchased in the open
market for less money ($o)?"
I ain very glad to have an opportu-
nifty to give my candid opinion in re-
gard to the various advertised stock
foods. When editing the Practical
Farmer, the owner of the paper would
not allow anything to be printed
against the use of the stock foods, as
they are very liberal advertisers, and
can we'll afford to advertise, since their
profits are immense.
The great bulk of these so-called
feeds is made up of wheat bran and
mill offa1. To this are added certain
drugs of a tonic nature, and the claim
is that these will give the animal an
appetite and enable it to consume
more food and thus make more pro-
duct in milk or beef.
But will the benefit warrant the cost?
You can buy the bran and mill by
products for tenth part Of what the
stock food men charge, and you can
get the tonics, if needed, for less mon
ply to your questions.
CD. Perhaps there may be in some
of these feeds something that may
have an effect in preventing worms.
But if you keep wood-ashes and salt
in a place under cover, it will do just
as much good at far less cost.
(2). Perhaps, if you give them
enough to make them too sick to root.
But healthy hog that has plenty of
green food to pasture on will not root
a great DEAL especially if he has the
ashes and salt to go to.
CD. A gain may be made by in
creasing the appetite Of the hog and
making him eat more, but on the same
amount of corn [ do not think there
will be any advantage.
CD. Yes; the ashes and salt, with
plenty of charcoal cinders in the ashes,
and you will only have to buy the salt
on the open market. In case of mango
|or any skin disease, I would add lit
tie sulphur to the ashes and salt.
The stock food manufacturers are
making great fortunes out OF those
who buy their mixtures, and, unfor-
tunately, the farm papers are largely
bought off by the thousands of dol
lars the stock food men spend in
advertising. I am glad to know that
there is one paper that could not be
bought, The Progressive Farmer.
There is another class. Of agents
around, and have been around in
North Carolina for years, but are now
working northward These are the
fellows who have a wonderful recipe
for making fertilizer by adding GER
tain chemicals to the farmers stable
manure, to cut it up, as they say, and
make it fine for use. I have gotten
hold of more than one of these recipes,
and they invariably are so compounded
that the article remaining after the
process is worth less than the manure
was before mixing it, as the effect of
some Of the articles is to drive off the
ammonia, and Of others, to have no