The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1910-09-02
FOR SMALL FARMERS
Handling of Sheep In COnjunc.
ton With Hogs Profitable
for the Small Farmers
MANURE WILL PAY FOR
TIME AND TROUBLE

hogs as p~rotltaDly as can lne owner Oh
a lOoO-acre farm: and if he under
stands animal husbandry as he should
he can turn off the very choicest ami
mails that go to the block or even to
the buyers Of choice p~ure-breed for
breeding purposes. The personal at
tention Of the well equipped farmer
and stock lover count for SO much
when it comes to turning off aproduct
above the average that we have in
him a factor that is essential to the
highest improvements of domestic
animals. The retail mutton factory
a be protitably conducted on the
small farm where the farmer has high
ideals of increasing fertily.
He believes in the golden hoof,"
and tries to turn all surplus growth
on the farm into mutton, wool or ma
nure. He let's no weeds or wild grass
on the fence row escape. The flock is
ever ready to cooperate with him in
his etforttoutilize unmarketable plants
and at the same time they give neat
ness and tidiness to his little farm.
In his desire to keep up fertility a
farmer should grow nitrogen in his
fields of clover and alfalfa, and he
should not sell the hay to 60 off his
farm, because for a fertilizer alone each
ton Of it is worth more than So. He
can feed it and make a profit on NUT
ton and wool and yet have in the resi-
due from Is to so percent of the value
of the hay left in the form of humus,
nitrogen, phosphorus and potash,
which constitutes one of the profits of
the business. Manure is of sufficient
value to some farmers to pay for all
the labor and risk of winter feeding
of a few hundred bambs. Where one
has his farm equipped with suitable
shelter, racks and watering facilities,
the owner of an S0-acre farm can feed
enough lambs to consume the clover,
alfalfa and other folders not needed
by his other stock; and the labor is
done in a eason when the farmer can
not otherwise occupy his time so
profitably.
The retail mutton farm can be re-
lied on as the easiest and neatest
road to conservation of soil. If the
little farmer knows how to feed and
handle his flock the reliable commits
sion house will buy and sell for him
better than he can do it himself.
Thus he is free to work the farm end
of the business. There are plenty Of
men on small farms who would like
to try winter feeding Of sheep or
lambs, but recognizing their inexper-
fence they hesitate. If one has shell
ter and clover hay or alfalfa and corn
and has some gumption as a handler
of stock, he is justified in making a
venture Of feeding lambs. This will
not interfere with his feeding as
many hogs as ever before. His hogs
cannot eat the clover hay he ought to
make, but the lambs an. He need
not have other grain than corr for
his lambs. They will make cheaper
growth on clover or alfalfa hay and
sound earn than on any other feeds.
How to get the lambs bothers him.
That is easy. Send an order to some
reliable commission house, for one
car as a starter of good or choice
western lambs. Arrange with your
banker to pay at sight the draft the
commission house will draw on you
the day the lambs are bought. The
commission house will buy to better
advantage than you can if you go to
the stock yards and look and dicker a
week. When the lambs arrive, turn
them on short pasture where they
can get water. After a few days put
them into the stubble field or any
other field that you want cleaned up
and by the time the first cold storm
comes your lambs are ready to go into
winter feeding quarters.
Then the main business begins. Be
fore turning into barn or shed cover
the floor knee deep with straw and
put in more straw later so as to keep
them clean. From now on be as gen
tie and quiet in feeding as possible.
Keep dogs and strangers out of sight.
Feed regularly. Besure to have pure
water a-plenty and salt handy. If
you will feed moderately for a month
and gradually increase to what they
clean up readily, there is a good
chance to make a profit and the best
lot of manure you ever had. Haul it
out as soon after the lambs leave as
possible. Put on about half as much
per acre of this manure made under
cover as from the open yard. All that
is easy asd safe for any farmer who
has gumption in feeding. My own
experience leads me to think the re-
tail mutton factory will enable us to