Evening star., 1916-05-07
LIVE STOCK TOPICS
BRIEFLY DISCUSSED
Snappy Paragraphs of Interest to
Farmers, Dairymen and
Stock Raisers.
Live Ideas About Proper Care and
Handling of Horses, Cattle,
Sheep and Swine.

of the sheep business mas CduSeu d
good many farmers to put in sheep
instead of cattle. 1t is easier to DO
business on a small capital where you
are handling sheep. You can take the
money used in buying single steer
and buy several sheep. and the saw
ing in feed in getting the two classes
of animals ready for the buyer is
worth considering. This is noticed In
two ways-in the amount of pasturage
required and in the amount of winter
feed needed.
In Missouri, Illinois. Kentucky, In
diana and Ohio. wherever there Is blue
grass sheep should he run. These
regions are peculiarly adapted TO sheep
growing in connection with general
farming The grass comes early IN the
spring and fingers until very late IN
the fall In about three years out OF
every five the pasturaee is such tnat tne
sheep can take pretty good care OF
themselves until well along into the win
ter With a pasture of this sort and
cornfield full of soy beans or cowpeas
the problem of sheep feeding pretty
nearly solves itself
In this way the sheep-feedinS season
is greatly shortened and the feedlnS
cost is cut down TO point where II
amounts to very little. While you are
forced to he shoveling out the corn.
the silase and the cake to the cattle.
the sheep managing to get along
with very little expense to their owner
The reason a purebred sire is better
than a grade is because the former is
IA ked by many generations of animals
bred along = specific line OF functloning,
and. therefore. has superior ability to
transmit to his offspring the desired
characteristics.
The successful raising of calves de-
Ia the intelligence
with which the dams have been handled
during the several months prior to
calvins.
The profits from next years hog
crop depend on getting an early start
and a good growth on the spring pigs
Grain feed is likely TO he scarce and
high priced on account of the loss or
the corn crop last fall. Good forage
can he made to go a long way toward
taking the place of grain IN MAINTAIN
ing the brood SOW and starting the
spring litter of pigs. Records OF gains
show that an acre of clover will give
as large a gain on hogs as 1.4oO to
1900 pounds of shorts
II good clover pasture can be pro-
vided, il will be one of the cheapest
substitutes for grain that can be found.
II provision for clover pasture or for
forage crops has not been made, sub
stitate crops can be grown. One of
the best substitutes is a mixture of
hushel of oats and one and ne-half
bushels of Canada field peas. These
should be sown just as early as the
ground is ready TO receive the seed
They will make a good pasture in five
or SIX weeks
Dwarf Essex rape is also a popular
hog forage This may be sown early.
also. though il grows faster when not
sown until the ground is reasonably
warm. 4 mixture of half a bushel OF
oats. three pounds of dwarf Essex rape
and two pounds of medium-red clover
sown on an acre of ground about May
! viii make splendid summer Feed
after the middle of June. To fol-
low this. corn sown in drills thirty
SIX inches apart with rape sown
broadcast after the corn has been cul-
tivated once or twice Will make ex-
celleut late summer and early fall feed.
especially for the growing pigs.
BY the use of these forage crops,
very much can be done to stimulate
the growth of the pigs and TO put
them iu good condition for fall fatten-
ing II small amount of shorts and
skim milk can be provided for
the young pigs with the forage, excel
lent gains viii be made.
Put the calf a skim milk diet
when two to three weeks Old. Make
the change gradually. substituting a
pint OF skim milk for the same guam
tity Of whole milk daily until the
change is made. Increase the feed
gra dually until AT four months old the
xii btl= tlE'Lt u NFH quarts Il idF :,
Some grain and grass, clover or alfalfa
hay. You safely can feed silaRe to
calves as soon as they are old enough
10 eat it- BE very careful not to give
them moldy decayed silage Let
them have all they will clean W.
Yearlings will eat from fifteen 10
twenty pounds a day, and II this is sup
Ilemsnted with some good clover or al
faifa hay very little grain is required
10 keep them in good thriving eondi-
tion. Sunlight is one of the best and
cheapest disinfectants Ample pro-
vision should be made for letting
plenty OF sunlight into barns and sheds.
southern exposure is desirable. The
warmth OF tho sun Is valuable in cold
weather. while excessive heat in sum-
rer may be avoided by using screens
or curtains. Most disease germs are
killed By direct sunlight.
The farmer should not buy his work
hOrses-he should raise them BY Sc
curing good pair Of brood mares he
. can grow them at profit.
NaIuing pork at s6 per hundred
weight. a field Of peas 'hogged OF" at
the Idaho experimental farm returned
3i0s.15 worth of pork, an average of
t25.53 per acre, or S213 per 100 pounds
OF the peas. Results like this indicate
that farmers in those sections where
peas naturally do well need not de
pend upon corn entirely for their
swine-feeding operations.
when you break even your beeves
YOU are ahead of the game, provid ed
YOU save the manure-especially IL you
have kept hogs following the cattle
Saving the manure" doesn't mean
SAVING merely one-third or one-fourth
" means saving all of II. LIQUID as
well as solid The problem OF Keeping
Ike stock with proht is largely a mat
fer OF making use as silage. roughage
o. bedding OF stun that is wasted on
the average farm. Weeds and weed
seeds, usually counted worse than
nothing NAV be put on the right side
~ the ledger by means Of a few sheep
Grass makes cheap pork
Corn, alfalfa and meat meal tankage
make very exceptionally good trio
Of brood sow feeds IL happily COM
tin@d This IL the opinion OF John NJ
award the Iowa hog feeding expert
He suggests giving the sows enough
corn 10 keep them in good condition
adding alfalfa in rack and giving
them about one-ffth to one fourth OF
pound of tho meat meal tankage
daily
Inc alfalfa may be ground and mixed
win the corn. using 100 pounds of
each and the mixture then fed from