The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-10-03
OAK LEAVES KILL CATTLE

ern Indiana that are infested with
scrub oak trees. This news doesn't
seem important until it is known that
the eating of scrub oak leaves has
caused the loss of lot of cattle on
western ranges, and has frequently
caused sickness and at times the fatal
poisoning of cattle in this state.
Of course cattle prefer good pas
turage to oak leaves and 1t is only
when pastures are short that cattle
will browse on the trees. This is the
condition of numerous northern pas
lures at this time and explains why
Purdue has sent out a warning. IL is
found that cattle are more susceptible
to being poisoned by tanic. acid than
are horses, sheep or goats, and oak
leaves contain lot of this acid.
A. A. Hansen, of the extension de-
partment, relates that some sickness
from eating oak leaves has recently
been discovered near Fair Oaks, IN
Jasper county. In one pasture the only
green thing lately has been oak leaves
and on these the cattle grazed very
| freely. The trees proved this and
when the sick cattle were taken of
| the oak infested pasture they shortly
recovered, only to get sick again when
| turned back on II.
Danger Is Less.
When animals feeding in such pas
lures are given other feeds the danger
is not great, but where they have no
other feed they are likely to die. In
experimental work it has been found
that few pounds of alfalfa fed daily
has prevented fatal sickness.
! Animals poisoned by oak leaves are
to ,-of,
come emaciated and walk in a pecul-
lar manner. A CONSIDERABLY uantity
of oak leaves must be consumed for an
extended period before the result is
fatal On pastures where feed is scarce
and oaks grow fairly luxuriantly, the
! best preventive is to provide the ami
mails with another source of feed un-
until the grass has gotten a good start.
Poultry cuIIing Field Days
Two poultry culling field days we're
recently held in Morgan and Posey
counties and were so widely advertised
that farmers from neighboring coun-
ties. came to witness the demonstra-
tions.
More than 600 attended the Morgan
county culling on the farm of S. P.
Smyth, near Morgantown. The morn
ing program was given over to talks
by County Agent T. c. Cravens and
Mr.. Smyth and an inspection of the
farm. The visitors saw 2100 hens, 900
of which are trapnested; two new
houses of the strawloft type and a
shed roof house, 200 by IS feet. A
similar meeting was held last year,
which attracted $50 persons, and an
other meeting is planned for the com
ing year Prof. A. G. Philips, L. l..
Jones and H. w. Fitting, of Purdue
university, were on the program in the
afternoon, discussing new experiment
tai results with poultry obtained at
Purdue.
The Posey County meeting was at
the farm of Louis ]. Demberger at
Stewartsville. Mr.. Demberger is one
of the most successful poultry breed
ers in Indiana and also is decidedly
practical in his management of the
poultry business.
At the Demberger farm, the visitors
saw a new shed roof house. 20 by got
feet, of the Purdue type, designed tc
house 1000 birds. They also saw al
old hog house, 80 by so feet, made
into a straw loft house which answer
: ed the purpose we'll for made ovel
house, and offered suggestions fol
I them to take home and apply on thei
+ own farms. The P0sey county meet
ing, the first ever held in the county
attracted $50 and another will be helC
next year. The Purdue men also spok,
at this meeting.
Mr.. Adams Visits Europe
When early last spring Samue
Adams, president of the agricultural
editors association, decided to go t
: Europe to investigate farm matters, b
l was commissioned by the American
farm bureau to make a study of &C
operative marketing and the agricu'
tural situation in several countries
l. Mr.. Adams arrived home late in Sep
e TENDER and will make an eXhaustiv,
5 report a little later. In the meanwhile
!, he has given out a few interestin:
o facts as to the part European farmer
k are now playing across the sea.
;. One of the significant statement
made is this: LESS than six per cen
of Norway's farmers are tenants"
V When We consider that 40 percen
) of all the farms in this country ar
i farmed by tenants, and that in som
e states the percent of rented farms run
G much above that, the figures given TO
< Norway are significant. Mr.. Adam
says that his farm bureau credential
aided him in meeting leaders in ayr
culture, also members of the cabinet
in the 10 countries that he visited. H
then states that he found varied kind
of political parties controlling tn
destinies of these countries. ''Ther
was the coalition of the liberals an
S conservatives of Great Britain; the sc
r cialists of Sweden and Germany; tn
: liberals of Denmark; the clericals O
a Holland and Belgium; the bushes
d mems government of Finland; and tn
l. Swiss cabinet that is composed of ST
S lawyers and chemist who has studio
e law"
Farmers Are Leaders.
1.-The most dominant thought tina
l. comes to my mind as think over wha
l. saw and heard in these 10 Europea
), countries is the very prominent par
y that the farmer is playing in legisls
4 tive matters over there. 1t would
well if some of our representatives an
4 senators could go over and see wha
It European political leaders think of tn
l. need of a prosperous agriculture.
t. Leaders in politics, agriculture an
r many kinds of activities told me tina
there was only one force that coul