Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-07-05
DAILY HINTS ON
FARM TOPICS
BY K. A. Kirkpatrick
Probably Rickets,

Ox Ne ~, AL APSNASA
Probably Rickcts.
A farmer In MOSCOW township 70.
ports that his young pigs are amict.
ed with peculiar ailment. It seems
that the joints in the little animals
swell up, some Of them remaining
hard, others becoming soft and ap-
parently having the swellings hlled
with water. The pigs seem to b 10
fairly good health, and eat we'll.
They usually finger along for three
or four weeks then die.
While / have not seen the pigs and
the conditions In which they are
kept. the symptoms would indicate
that the trouble may possibly be rick
cts. The disease causes the pig TO
become lean and to grow weaker
and weaker until 1t finally dies from
como other disease which comes -
q result OF the weakened condition.
Among such diseases are pneumonia
and enteritis. The trouble 10 with
the bones and Is due to wrong feed
Ing or bad digestion Of food. There
Ia probably not enough lime In the
food to make the bony skeleton hard
and solid. Feeding with starch foods
or those rich In carbohydrates to
the exclusion Of nitrogen and lime Is
possibly the trouble. 1t 10 suggested
that in case OF this trouble the sood
be largely ade up OF bran, bone
meal. and milk with lime water add
ed. The quarters should be thor
ou4hly cleaned and sunlight and
fresh air should be provided. The
pigs should be forced to take as much
exercise as possible. A good clover
pasture in which the feeding fs dis
tributed at various places In order TO
encourage exercise might be q good
suggestion.
Radishes.
There are q great many psople who
are in the truck growing work Who
obtain . considerable part q their
profit out OF the radisho0 v0eoh they
grow. These are usually grown N .
system Of companion or succession
cropping. In companion cropping
they are grown In between tho rows
Of carrots, turnips or some other
crop which will use the ground after
the radishes are pulled out. IN sue
cession cropping they are used TO &C.
cupy the ground until 1t 10 time Tor
some other crop to be planted.
In visiting with one OF the success
full truck growers yesterday, my At
tention was called to the desirable
quality OF the round Giant Scarlet
radish. This radish on tho sandy
soil was giving especially good re-
suits In that II did not become pithy
Or strong. Another plat OF radisnes
TO which my attention was directed
showed seed stalks forming on per-
haps rs per cent OF the crop. The
man remarked to me that he had
found this to be the case In evory In.
stance whore he had used old seed
md that 90 the seed became older
moro pronounced was this tendency
10 run to seed without forming good
salabie roots. Here Is possible e.
PLANTATION for poor success with cor.
tain lots OF radish seed.
Another thing that operates foi
success In growing radishes 10 the
grading Of the seed, using only the
largest plumpest seeds for planting
and discarding the small and inferior
pnes. In the experiments OF q great
many Agricultural Experiment sta
tons this operation has been found
to give saiable crop in several day.
less time than where the Qngradet
seed was used
One grower on the Island has beef
having considerable trouble with I
disease which attacks his radish
crop, the trouble causing the rad,
ishes to turn black Inside. While
the writer Is not prepared to say
Just what this trouble Is. he is OF the
opinion that It Is some form OF the
cabbage rot. 1t should be remem.
bered that the cabbage and the rad
Ish are closely related and the cab.
bage diseases can and will subsist up
on radishes turnips, mustard, rape
caulifiower, and many other crops
belonging to the same family. Thi.
simply points to the care that shoult
be used in selecting piece OF GROUND
for radish culture or for any crops
that are related to the cabbage. Avoid
the use Of soil on which diseased
cabbage has been grown within sew.
eHal years.