Vernon Parish Democrat., 1921-04-07
THE SCIENCE OF FARMING
By w. A. Dougherty, U. S. D.

nit the buildings to be drawn from
one location to another. The skids
are so attached that when they decay
new ones can be put in place. The
corners are braced inside to prevent
racking when the buildings are moved.
There are no floors but there is a cross
sill at the center which practically
makes two sleeping compartments.
The front is open below, with two
swinging doors above that can be
pushed inward and fastened to the
roof in good weather, thus letting in
the sunshine In winter the houses
face to the South. The walls are bat
tened on the inside. To prevent the
wind from oyer-turning these shelters,
each building is anchored to a post
driven close beside it. These struc-
lures cost about $1,000 each. The
small A houses are E IL by s feet in
size and 4 IL feet high. They rest
on a frame of Gin. boards, to which
they are securely fastened These
boards are the only parts of the struc-
I lures that are in contact with the
ground, and can easily be replaced
when they decay. The end of the shell
ter is left open. The cost of these
small shelters is about $500 each.
The device used for watering the
hogs is exceptionally we'll adapted to
the purpose in the absence of a nat
ural water supply. In fact, it is per-
Ihaps more desirable than ponds or ev-
en- running streams on the score of
cleanliness and decreased liability to
infectious diseases. A sled large enuf
to hold an ordinary barrel is covered
with heavy water-tight floor and
boarded up tight 4 inches around the
3edges. The barrel is provided with a
large bung or wooden stopper in the
upper head in order that it may be
readily filled with water. A half inch
hole in bored in the side of the barrel
about three inches from the bottom;
Chat is, the opening is 3 inches from
the bottom or floor on which the bar
rel stands.) The lower hole being
stopped, the barrel is filled with wa
ter. The large bung is then inserted
air-tigh. The sled is now drawn to
the field near the shelter houses, and
the small stopper is removed. The
water runs out, filling the shallow box
forming the top of the sled to the le-
vel Of the small opening in the bar
rel. The hogs may drink at any cor
ner of the box; as the water is con-
sumed more runs out.
Two such barrels are placed in each
inclosure, and filled once or twice a
day, or as often as they become
empty.
The most careful methods of breed
ling seed corn are practiced. In the
breeding plat, every alternate row is
detasseled to insure cross-pollination.
This insures seed of high vitality on
the detasseled stalks. Each year the
! choicest plants are selected for plant
ing the breeding plat next year.
lhe one ever-present element OF
danger in hog raising is the liability
of loss from CHOLERA. The farm
described has met such losses. Dur
ing the present year only 90 hogs were
sold from each of the farms because
the numbers had recently been depict
ed by cholera. This disease is proba-
bly, carried from farm to farm by
farmers themselves as often as in any
other manner. In a field or lot of
sick hogs, the soil becomes infested
with the germs. These are carried on
mems shoes, on wagon tires, and in
other similar ways from one farm to
another.
Strict quarantine will frequently
carry a herd of hogs safely thru an
epidemic of cholera; but there is at
present no satisfactory way of avoid
ing this disease. The farmer who de-
pends largely on hogs for has income,
must therefore be prepared to meet
occasional losses from this cause.
Strict quarantine and vaccination
are proving more effective each year
e lin combating hog cholera.