The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-12-27
(Bv Associated Press)


COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 27.-The
breakfasts. luncheons and dinners of
Ohio's feathered folk this winter will
consist of about 100000 pounds of
weed seeds and other things. and if
last years ratio is continued, farmers
of the state will be saved around
$3,000,000 because of the birds appe-
titles.
Authority for the statement Is found
in a bulletin issued by the United
States department of agriculture. The
farm value of crops produced in Ohio
in 1920 which might have been at
fected by the weeds, was about
$500 100000, according to the bulletin,
which says that one per cent of agrl-
cultural crops are saved by the total
consumption of weed seeds by birds.
An estimate on this basis shows that
100000 was saved to Ohio farmers
last year.
About 20 pounds of weed seed will
cover an acre. On this basis, the
amount of weed seed consumed by
birds would cover 100000 acres
enough to seed the whole of Lake
county, as an example.
w. T. Hornaday, director of the
New York geological gardens, esti-
mated, according TO a report that If
their were four quail neach square
mile in Ohio, 600 tons of weed seed
would be consumed during the winter
months. Reports issued by the Bio
logical Survey, Washington, declare
that quail feed on 100 kinds of weed
seed. One quail, which was examined.
Sparrows' Record
In an Iowa report, Professor E. j..
Beal estimated the tree sparrows of
that state consumed S75 tons of weed
seed annually. The land area of Iowa
is about .one-fourth greater than Ohio.
but the number of tree sparrows is
about the same. The consumption of
weed seeds by tree sparroWS in OHIO,
then, would approximate 600 tons.
Besides the quail, mourning doves,
iuncos. redpols and larks, which
spend the winter in Ohio, have tooth
for weed seeds.
The average Ohio dairyman was
paid about four and a half cents an
hour for his labor in 1921, and al
though some dairymen operated at a
fair profit, many did business at a net
loss, ccording TO Prof. Oscar Err of
the department of dairying at Ohio
State university.
Dairying is more profitable than
general farming, Prof. Err points out.
According to him, the average 160-
acre dairy farm has had gross in
come of $1,000, annually, while the
average 300-acre grain farm has had
an annual income OF $4,000.
The dairy business has increased
about 20 percent from 1900 to 1910.
and has shown an increase of about
II percent since 1910, figures prepared
by Err show.
Further records show that the aver
age production per COW has been on
the upgrade, and that the ordinary
Ohio COW produced ALSO pounds of
milk in 1921 and $500 pounds of milk
in 1905.
Instructions for feeding dairy cows are
given by Ivan McKellip, diary extens-
| ion specialist at Ohio Stae university,
! in a recent bulletin entitled "Sugges-
tions for Computing Rations for Dairy
| Cows"
! McKellip bases his feeding rules on
! a large number of Ohio COW testing
records. Some of the high points are:
| Feed cows on pasture the same ration
as during the rest of the year
Feed cows not on pasture three or
| four pounds of ensilage, or its equival-
| ent in some succulent feed, and one TO
one and a half pounds of legume daily
per one hundred pounds live weight to
gether with good concentrated mix
| ture.
| Vary concentrates according to milk
production, but is never is wise to feed
under four pounds of grain daily to a
COW in milk unless she gets too fat
The bulletin points out that the
concentrate allowance varies with diff
! ferent breeds and the amount of milk
produced, but with daily milk pro
/! duction UP to 80 pounds, Holstelns and