Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1909-04-13
Advocates Smaller Farms
DAlRYING AND HOG RAISING

Dairying, combined with hog rails
ing and potato growing, is a type Of
farming, under the Williston irriga-
ton project that is recommended by
the farm management investigating
board fthe United States depart
ment Of agriculture. The practice
Of intensive, rather than extensive
farming is pointed out as the best
on the irrigated tract. A farm of
forty acres under the ditch is consid-
cred equivalent, income and labor
taken into account, to farm of 100
acres where irrigation is not prac-
ticed.
The soil under the Williston pro-
ject in North Dakota varies greatly.
The low, level land is very heavy,
and, while rich, is not adapted to as
wide a range of crops as the higher
land The fertility of the soil may be
maintained almost indefinitely with
out the aid of commercial fertilizer
if meat, milk, butter, eggs and friit
are the only products sold from the
farm.
Extravts fro mthe report follow:
Ground Barley Is Good Feed.
"In order to support DAIRY Or SIX
or eight cows tue Following C.ops
are suggested: Clover, alIalAa,$ par
ley, oats, canada field peas anu oats,
fodder corn and mangel- wur4els.
Wild hay being plentiful and cneap
Winston vicinity, there will pc no
trouble in obtaining roughage for tAe
COWS during the time That must
elapse before crop Oh clover or all
al1t can be grown. ~
In the Duok entitled Feeds and
Feeding Dean Henry speaks very
highly of ground barley as teed
for mich cows, and the writer, while
engaged In the dairy business in Far
go, found no better feed for dairy
cows than oats in the bundle, the
oats being cut in the dough stage.
Oats and Canada field peas make an
excellent feed for, dairy cows. In
tne absence Of q silo there is no bet
ter feed than mangels to supplement
the ration Of dry hay and grain.
Hogs should do well ii pastured
|on clover or alfalfa, but in order to
have feed for them the first year a
small piece of Canada field peas and
oats should be, sown. Ground barley
Is highly satisfactory feed for fat
tening hogs, and in North Dakota
may be used as q substitute for corn.
Glover or clover and timothy may
be sown with barley, wheat or oats
as a nurse crop. Clover should be
sown at the rate Of from twelve to
fifteen pounds of seed an acre and
about as shallow as it is possible to
cover the seed. Medium red clover
does not yield crop the year 1t is
sown, but the following year should
give two heavy crops of hay or one
crop OF hay followed by q crop of
seed. As the crop next year Is al
most sure u be unsatisfactory, it
will be advisory to plow 1t up for
corn, potatoes and mangel-wurzels.
Alfalfa Il Good Crop. 4
alfalfa ID q very satisfactory crop
under irrigation and should be grown
extensively under this project. From
fifteen to twenty pounds of seed an
acre should be sown in the spring;
under irrigation with a nurse crop,
elsewhere without a nurse crop. As
alfalfa is likely to yield good returns
for SIX or eight years. this crop
should be kept as 4 permanent pas
ture for hogs or as meadow. It
makes q suitable pasture for hogs
and horses, but not for cattle and
sheep. As q, hay crop grown under
irrigation. alfalfa give sa heavy yield
and, in It's feeding value .fs unex-
celled. r.
Canada field peas If sown with
oats at the rate of two bushels of
peas to one of oats an acre, will fur
nish q large quantity Of feed for hogs
and also make a very satisfactory
COW feed. Canada field peas are
grown as a pasture crop for hogs,
but for cattle are usually grown as
a hay crop. The three crops just de-
scribed-clover, alfalfa and Canada
field peas-are soil improvers. These
crops take nitrogen from the air and
store it in the ground where it is
available for the use of succeeding
crops. &s,
"1n the spring as soon as the
ground can be worked, mangel-wur-
zels are planted in rows about two
feet apart to permit Of horse cultiva-
ton, and thinned to twelve or four