Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1908-12-23

SUU Dubuel0 Oh potatoes from an acre.
of land and sell them for $50 and
think they have reached the climax Of
profitable agriculture, but he ID like
the man who paid $1,000 for farm
and after having dug 5000 worth Of
fertility out Of It was obliged to sell.
1t for $1,000. There ID no practical;
farming that does not maintain soil
fertility.
SaMolsnt Feed for Winter.
We are making a mistake when Nc
neglect to provide an abundance Of:
succulent food for our live stock dur
ing the winter. There is great need OF
succulent food in all rations and there
ls something about this succulence that
the chemist cannot find that is Of value
to the animals. Ensilage, turnips ana
mangels Will make excellent succusi
lcnce.
One point we should study in the
feeding Of live stock is that Of max.
Ing the rations palatable. The matter
Of palatlbility or the individual appe.
titles of our animals is matter that
IL seldom recognized, although 1t L. Of
great Importance.
In most cases animals will thrive,
batter when they are fed a ration that
they relish even though 1t ID not theo-
retically balanced to fraction Of 1
per cent, than they will on ration
that Is not agreeable to their appetitss:
even II properly balanced.
Or course we cannot disregard the
relative proportions Of heterogeneous
and carbonaceous material in the ra.
tons, but first we must be sure that
tho ration is large enough and then
look to Its palatability instead Of split
ting hairs over slight variation in
nutritive rations. Exchange.
Heating Water For Cattle. *
The Indiana station made an inyesti-
CATION Of the methods of beef produc-
tion used by the successful feeders in
the State. A list of 100 questions was
sent out to $500 Of the most successful
cattle feeders In the State.
In response to these Inquiries 929 re-
plies were received While all phases
OF the subject were touched upon It IL
interesting to note that in the matter
OF an adequate water supply IS per.
cent Of the feeders use wells for the
purpose Of watering their cattle, 21 per.
cent used springs and the remainder
depended upon bitches, creeks or nat.
ural ponds.
In regard to the heating Of water In
winter, tank heaters were used By so
per cent. 4 few Of the remainder ds-
pend upon pumping water as the cattle
need 1t; upon springs which never
freeze up. or upon banking the water;
tanks with sawdust, manure or some
other substance to keep them from
freezing.
But taken a. whole the great ma
Jority make no provision whatever In
regard to warming the water In winter.
Rate Of Alfalfa seeains.
Alfalfa seed u sown at tho rate Of
fifteen to eighteen pounds per acre,
Some growers recommend lareer
amount than this, using as hixh as
twenty pounds of seed per acre, while:
others claim that ten to twelve pounds
per acre Is sufficient, says an Oklahoma
report 1t Is certain that In cases
where tho soil 10 placed in first class
condition and the seed purchased has q
high germinative power good results
can be obtained by using fifteen to six-
teen pounds Of SEED per acre, but if;
these conditions are not met then Z
larger amount OF seed will be required.
The method Of seeding varies In DIFF
ferent sections Of the state, but what
ever the method may be one should al;
ways aim to secure uniform distribu-ss
ton Of the seed. Any up-to- date grass
seeder will accomplish this object, OF
an ordinary shoe drill can b. used ad.
vantageously- Some drills are built
with q grass seeder attachment from
which the seed can be scattered In
front Of the drill and the shoes or disc
in passing over the surface will give
sufficient covering. Placing the seed
at depth Of more than one Inch ID
not advisable. The amount Of plant
food which is stored up for the young
embryo is limited, and when the seed
is placed in the soil with layer Of
earth to the depth Of one or two inches:
above it the amount Of food is insuifi-
Client to carry the little plant above the
surface, hence large numbers perish.
As soon as the plant reaches the sum
light 1t Is able to collect new supplies
Of food from the soil and atmosphere.
1t has not been our practice to use q
nurse crop with alfalfa.
MIX Inspection.
In speaking Of milk inspection, Chief
Webster Of the United States Dairy
Department, said: Its purpose il to
protect the public against impure milk.
Such may come from several sources.
First. In the case Of animals, we need
better inspection, for they may b.
badly infected with tuberculosis and.
still the disease would not be apparent
to the eye. Second, the handlers Of milk
need closer inspection, and when
such persons have contagious disease
they should NOT be allowed to handle
the milk or any of Its products. Third,
there should be more sanitary inspec-
ton of buildings and equipment
Fourth, the laboratory inspection Is Inn
portant and should be placed In com.
,petent hands. It is Of the utmost I'm.
.portance that the inspection work be
done by experienced and educated men.
Politics should not adulterate the milk
and ID most detrimental to the accom-
plishing Of the most good The police
authority alone is the least effective In
this work, for you can't make a man
clean with club; he must be educated
However, It is best that the inspector
be clothed with police power, for there
are In some communities those who
will heed nothing but pure force. Tho
police power makes the work more eff