Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1917-10-30
.,ore Liue,tock A MiliLary Necessity


With year OF good crops, an
abundance of forage, and prices high
er than at any other time in the
country's history, Maryland should
not take too lightly the plea now be-
ing heard from coast to coast-"raise
more livestock"
To heed this plea is necessary; it
is profitable as we'll Perhaps no
clearer summary of the situation has
been given than that recently by AS
| sistant Secretary OF Agriculture
Vrooman who declared, THE keeping
of more livestock was highly desir-
/ able before the war. 1t is now a ma
tional necessity, first, because of the
terrible dearth of meat animals not
only in this country but throughout
the world; second, because no waste
of feeds should be permitted, and the
thing that will prevent waste of feeds
| upon the farm is the production of
more livestock The fact of keeping
most livestock as a military necessity
1 does not mean that it is any the less
a good business. The farmer should
not lose this golden opportunity to
cash in his waste forage at war
prices"
While certain sections of Maryland
have brought their livestock industry
to success and profit, it can hardly be
said that the State as whole has
reached the point in the development
Of livestock industry that awaits it.
but awaits it only on the condition
that better feeding, care and santa
ton are comprehended as essentials
to success in this line. Such is the
opinion of DR.. S. s. Buckley, of the
state Extension Service.
Perhaps disease has been the
greatest factor tending to depress the
industry. This is true at least as re-
CARDS the hog, as farmers in many
sections Of the State well know, But
with cholera in hogs, and various dis
! eases affecting cattle and sheep, pro-
/ per methods of care will eliminate
! losses sufficiently to enable the farmer
again to put his farm on a livestock
basis
At the present time changes to fall
feed and quarters for most livestock
are taking place. Houses for the
winter are being prepared, farm-lots
cleaned up and disinfection practiced
At no season Of the year is there bet
ter opportunity offered to make the
entire farm a healthy place for all
farm animals. The whitewash brush
! and disinfectant spray should be
welded with lavish hand. All trash
should be raked into a pile and
burned; the manure should be spread
0 nthe field, good troughs and water
ing places should be provided, and
drainage around all buildings should
be perfected Make the barns and
sheds light and we'll ventilated. The
good stockman wants his animals well
sheltered and comfortably provided
for He is doubtless the most humane
being in the world, and the reward is
satisfaction through profit and the
fact that his livestock is going to
feed hungry and meat-impoverished
world
Keep 4 Few Hens.
The back yard flock of hens is COM
ing into its own in a manner that
bids fair to make poultrymen out Of
an unusually large number of town
people this coming winter, and few
yards of the "suburbanite" will be
without their chickens. In all in
stances the fiocks are being used as
a means of keeping down the high
cost of living. Rather than have the
soaring egg prices causing the ONE
let to become eggless and the old
standby Of ham and eggs degenerating
into dish Of ha monty, the small
flock is being resorted to with much
merited success.
"A few hens in the back yard are as
essential as a war garden says Roy
II. Waite, POultryman Of the Mary
land Experiment Station, and the re-
turns are perhaps surer, not to men,
ton the smaller amount of work and
time required to gain results. Fur
thermore, anyone with room for a
war garden has room for from six
to dozen hens"
For success with the small flock,
the most important rules are-keep
the house clean and dry, the cracks
closed with strips to exclude the
wind and feed regularly with the
proper food. So far as feed is con-
cerned, table scraps will furnish a
considerable portion Of that neces-
sary, and this waste returns more on
/ the investment when put into hens for
egg production than when put into
the garbage can. OF course table
scraps must not be expected to fur
nish all the feed
When a flock of a dozen birds is
well fed and housed, it may be ex-
| pected to produce about two dozen
| eggs per week, and with prospects
| for S0-cent eggs this coming winter,