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:1,^l.ii!Ulii:i;',ii.i!::J;lii!!;:!.ii!i5 VoL IX. INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, APRIL 25, 1874. i No. 16. Liyg Stock* CARE OF TEAM HORSES. The following good advice to teamsters has been published in the form of a showy poster, and sent out by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. It is signed by Daniel H. Blanch- ard, and. endorsed by several veterinary surgeons, agents of railway and express companies, and by Chas. A. Currier, special agent of the society. ; WHAT CONSTITUTES A GOOD DRIVER.' 1. A man who sees that good care is taken of his horse in the stable, by being well fed with wholesome food, of cracked corn, and oats, with plenty of good hay. Potatoes, or carrots, may be given once or twice a week to good advantage. See that he is kept clean, warm and comfortable, with plenty of bedding. A piece of rock salt should always be left in the manger. 2. He should see that his harness- is kept soft and clean, particularly the inside* of the collar, which ought always tb be smooth, as the perspiration, when dry, causes irritation, and is liable to produce galls on the shoulder. The collar shbuld fit closely, with space enough at the bottom to admit a man's hand. If too large, it has the bad effect of drawing the shoulders together. On no consideration should a team, or any work horse be compelled to wear a martingale, as it draws the head down, and prevents him from getting into an easy and natural position. -The check- rein may be used, but only tight enough to keep the head in £. natural position, and it should never be wound around the hames. See that the hames are buckled tight enough at the top to bring the draught iron near the centre of the collar. If too low, it not only interferes with the action of the shoulder, but gives the collar an uneven bearing. Caution should be taken that the girt is not buckled too tight, particularly on string teams, for wnen the traces are straightened, it has the tendency to draw the girt against the.belly,,and distress the horse. 3. See that the horse is kept well shod with a good stiff shoe, always calked at toe and heel on the hind feet, as it is there where all the propelling power comes from when heavily loaded. Keep the feet good and strong, by not allowing them to be cut away too much by the blacksmith. 4. The best of judgment should be used in loading, taking into consideration the condition of the street, and the distance to be travelled. Never overload, for by so doing, you onlj* strain and discourage your horse, and do him more injury than you can possibly gain by_carrying the extra load. When your load is hard to pull, stop often, and give your horse a chance to breathe. No good driver will ever resort to the cruel practice of whipping or beating his horse. A light whip may be carried, but there is seldom use for it. Much more can be accomplished by kind treatment and good judgment. Remember, the horse is a very intelligent, proud, sensitive, noble animal, the most useful known to man, and is deserving of the greatest kindness. •—— Cows for the Dairy.—In a paper read before the Northwestern Dairymen's Association, Mr. Chester Hazen, while discussing the kind of cows most suitable for the dairy, remarked : What is needed here in the West is the best cows we can get; and if well fed and cared for, there is no doubt but they will yield a good profit to the dairyman. I believe every dairyman should raise some heifer calves every season from his best cows. And when you get them started keep them growing until they are cows. I cannot afford to raise calves and let them stand still or go back in the winter. Keep them growing, and if you do well by them, they will come in when two years old, and invariably make better cows than they will to come in at three years, because, coming in at two years checks their growth in bone and develops their milking qualities, making a much more desirable cow; whereas, if allowed to run until three years old they grow too coarse and masculine for first-, class milkers. This has been my experience in breeding milking stock. If you wish to breed grade stock of any blood, breed from a full-blooded bull. A grade bull is not to be_relied upon to produce anything like a uniformity of stock, which would be a serious objection to a good dairyman or breeder. A large, coarse cow, with heavy carcass to support, is not as profitable for the dairy, as a medium or undersized ccw that is a good milker. It requires a certain amount of feed to support the carcass in proportion (usually) to its size, and a small Kcow, that will give as much milk as a large jone, is decidedly the best for the dairy. I But some would say the larger cow, when jshe is no longer profitable for milk, is worth more for beef. That may be true, but to support 200 pounds extra of carcass for ten years, will much more than balance the difference in the value of the cows when fattened for beef. A good dairy cow that will pay two or three times what her carcass is worth for beef every year in milk, is far more valuable for the dairy, even if the carcass was worthless for beef. But this is not the case. The real difference in favor of the large cow for beef, is only the difference in the number of pounds of beef. I believe I can keep five cows of 800 pounds each on the same feed that would be required to keep four cows of 1,000 pounds each, and if I bred carefully from first-class milking stock, they would produce one-fifth more milk, or twenty per cent., which would be a net profit of twenty per cent, in favor of the smaller cows. Perhaps 800 pounds is rather light for a -first-class dairy cow, but my experience is decidedly in favor of medium or undersized cows.—Nat. Live St. Journ. himself, hiring help only when it is necessary—for harvesting hay, shearing, etc., thesheep will pay Shim §3.00 per head, as against $2.00 wnen'ttelp is hired liberally. Mr. Myers estimates his sheep to be worth 13.50 each. On 1,00*0 sheep the investment would be $3,500; ind, as the net profit shown above amouits to SI ,705, the return on the 'investment \jts over 50 per cent Ohio Farmer. Value of Goon Blood.—Mr. L. AV. Towne, Superintendent of the Hannibal & St. Jo Railroad, who is, it appears, the owner ofa large stock farm in Missouri, in a letter written to Mr. T. F. Oakes, Freight Agent ofthe Kansas Pacific Railway, gives the following particulars Jto illustrate the importance of good blood in a breeding boar: In the fall of 1871 I sold Mr. Wm. Dudley,' of Palmyra, Marion county, Mo., a Berkshire boar, bred on my Feed Young Chickens Often.—The chicks should be" feed often, six times a' day at least," for a day is an age to a chicken, and meal time is always coming round. A varied diet is best for chickens, as well as for fowls, and should consist mostly of soft food—a few angle worms if obtainable, bread wet with milk, Indian meal—in fact, anything easily digested. It takes little or no more grain to grow a chicken to the weight of a couple of pounds early in the season, and the price per pound is double or treble, in case of the early chickens. If it is wished to improve a breed of fowls in size, early chickens are preferable to raise for stock. It is well known that bantams are propagated by rearing late and consequently dwarfish chickens. When the chicks begin to run about freely, great care should be taken to keep them out of the power of hawks. A common device in Eastern Connecticut, is to set up a little Pafnms of Husknilrg. THE GRANGERS. f-Ci-c.ift.rJCLi.as zitfi. jdiisrs BERKSHIRE SOW "BEAUTY"-WEIGHT, 600 POUNDS. ?E0PEBTT OF JAMES BILET. TH0ENT0WN. INDIANA. Gapes in Chickens.—Early spring chickens are always desirable on the farm, and as now is the time that they are to be most particularly cared for, perhaps a few words on the disease known as "gapes" may not be amiss. As I have never known of an infallible cure, I think-prevention the better practice. When I first commenced raising chicks, it was on old farm where the gapes had been a terror for twenty years, and the former owners had almost given up trying to keep fowls ; but to the astonishment of all the neighbors I loBt not a single chick with the disease, and I have never had a single, ease in* the last fifteen years. I always confine the mothers in a small coop, with a board floor in at least half of it. and allow the chicks to roam where they please. These coops are frequently moved. I feed them, while young, with dough made from corn ground quite coarse, and wetted very sparingly. Just as soon as they can-eat small grain, wheat screenings, etc., -1 give but little dough, then, as they increase in size, feed corn, etc. I have noticed that all who feed entirely on corn_ meal dough, made tcet, complain that their chickens have the gapes. A neighbor, who has a small horse power corn crusher, cracks his corn to feed his young chicks, and never had a case of gapes. He sold his farm,_ and _ the new comer loses one-half of his chicks with this disease. Many other cases could be mentioned, which shows that the manner of feeding has much to do with this complaint. Delos Wood. North Madison, Ind. farm, six months old; he weighed, at that time, one hundred and seventy pounds, This boar was used on common or grade sows, and his product the following year was two car-loads, or one-hundred hogs, weighing two hundred and_ seventy-five to three hundred pounds, which, were sold in St. Louis at three-fourths of a cent per pound over the market price, on account of tlieir breeding, having extra-large hams and shoulders in proportion to weight. Capt. John Nichols, of Palmyra, Marion county, Mo., bought a Berkshire boar of me in 1871. In the winter of 1872 he sold to A. S. Stillweel, of Hannibal, one hundred and one head of hogs from this boar, from one-half to three-fourth Berkshire, fifteen months old, averaging three hundred and thirty-six pounds, being the best lot of hogs ever sold in this market of one man's raising. They were kept in the usual way, on clover, through the summer, and fed just ten weeks.—Nat. Lice Stock Journal. wind-mill with a pair of clappers attached, the whirling arms and rattling clappers proving a very good scarecrow.—Live Stock Journal. Sheep Farming in Nebraska.—A correspondent in Nebraska sends us the following encouraging "showing," made by Mr. Myers, of Gage county, a sheep farmer, who has been about four years in that State: Mr. Myers thus "figures" the problem of sheep farming in Nebraska, with a flock of 1,000 head :—100 tons of hay, costing $3.00 per ton for putting up, $300; 500 bushels of sheaf oats, $100; shepherding for eight months, $150; wages of one man for four, months, $100; do., one month, $30; washing, shearing and packing wool, $200; salt, $35; shedding for winter, $50; losses at two per cent. $70— total, $1,035. By 4,500 pounds of wool, at 40c per pound, $1,800; 400 lambs, at $2.50, $1,000: total, $2,800. Mi-. Myers considered his allowance for expenses very liberal. He charges hay at too high a figure; and the percentage of loss is not generally so large as stated, as sheep are subject to no disease whatever on the Nebraska prairie. One man also could take charge ofa flock ofa thousand during the summer months; and, in winter, one boy could feed them, as it is best to let the sheep run to the hay all the time, and the oats are to be fed in the sheaf. Mr. Myer further^ claims that if a farmer will do most of his work Care of Young Turkeys.—A successful turkey raiser writes that he regards dough made of Indian meal as injurious to young turkeys. His method of feeding is to make bread of Indian meal, and to bake either in ovens or the ashes, and after the bread cools to crumble^ it up pretty fine and then stir in buttermilk until the whole assumes about the consistency of tolerably thick batter. Young turkeys relish this food amazingly. They should be fed from six to eight times a day until they are large enough to follow their mothers through the fields in search of crickets, grasshoppers and such green food as they may require in their rambles. A little beef "scrap-cake," made soft by soaking or boiling, is also capital food for them. Dry and commodious coops or pens should be provided in which to confine the young turkeys and their mothers in stormy weather, and also to keep them from wandering off early in the morning while the dew is still upon the grass. When confined in wet weather, onion-tops or other green food should be chopped fine and fed to them, as green food seems to be eminently promotive of their health. After turkeys are three or four months old, they may be fed on wheat, oats, corn, and any sort of refuse meat that has not been salted.— Young Folks Rural. Sale of Short-Horns.—I have recently sold Short-horns to the following parties: To J. E. & C. B. Knowles, Clinton, Ind., "Sydney Carton," 13,002; got by Bluff Airdrie 9,538 out of Zelena by Major Duncan, 5927.. To F.: P. Healy, Andalusia, Rock Island co.. Ills., "Orphan Boy," by Duncan's Airdrie 5615 out of Bonnie Eyes, 2d, by Sir William Wallace, 3,443, and heifer "Formosa," by Bluff Airdrie, 9538, out of White Twin, by Major Duncan, 5927. Claude Matthews. Clinton, Ind. Bots in Horses.—The complete in- efficacy of the various popular panaceas for bots in horses may be better understood when we come to know something of the nature of these persistent parasites. They are not worms, but larvae of a fly, and are possessed of remarkable powers of endurance under adversity. Thc most insiuuating substances are but as milk and honey to them, and in an instance recorded a colony of them attached to the stomach of a dead horse were in no way inconvenienced by an hour's exposure to a bath of spirits of turpentine. But when whale oil was poured upon them they let go tlieir hold and died almost instantly. Now. whale oil being thus indicated as an effective dose, and being aperient in its action upon the horse, would seem to be tho remedy that should bo chosen before any other. At least it might be well to havo some experiments made and the results carefully noticed and made note of.— Practical Farmer. [For the Indiana Farmer. A FARMER WHO MAKES FARMING PAY. M. B. P.ingo, of Clay county, says: I have been engaged for the last sixteen or eighteen years in the raising, feeding and handling of cattle and hogs, with a reasonable degree of success. But for the last five or six years I have paid more< attention to breeding, grazing and feeding cattle than any other kind of stock. I have at this time about one hundred and twenty head, all of my own breeding. My cattle are all a very fair class of grade shorthorns. I raise my own feed and have my own pasture. Butter making has become an interesting business with us for the last two or three years. My wife made and sold in the year 1872 3,372 pounds of butter for which she realized $897. In 1873 she. sold 3,201 pounds, receiving for the same $894 75. For the past two years we have milked from fifteen, to twenty cows. This year we milk from twenty to thirty, and the average yield of butter per month is about 325 pounds, for which we have received a fraction over one hundred dollars per month. Our place of market is Knightsville, Clay county. __ . m » Good Management Pays.—In the spring of 1873, J. H. Harrison of Annapolis, Ind., sold to Mr. Burnsides of Portland Mills, Ind., a pair of White Holland turkeys for five dollars. The ben laid sixty- three eggs, from which he raised fifty-two turkeys. These he sold before wintering them for four dollars per pair, or $108. Who can beat this? It takes care to bring such results, but it always pays. We clip the following from a California paper. It is written in so kind a spirit that we commend its consideration to the Patrons of Husbandry : The Grangers as a body, cannot be reasonably held responsible for what either one or two may say, nor are their acts to be judged by what one, or half a dozen might do. It would be strange, indeed, if a numerous and powerful organization could not find among its members men of sufficient intellectual capacity and brain power to devise means for the betterment of their condition ; but it is also fatally true of mankind • that the possession of power almost always involves a disposition to wield it with intolerance, which frequently degenerates into fanaticism and tyranny. This is especially applicable in eases where the acquisition of power is sudden and falls into hands unused to the vast responsibility attaching to its possession. While we frankly and joyfully applaud many of the acts of the Grangers, we cannot consistently give that countenance to others inaugurated by them, nor indorse some of the opinions they have advanced. Recognizing the fact that-our agricultural classes compose the great backbone and solid structure of our material prosperity, and bestowing upon them all the honor and credit which" of right pertains to such distinction, wo ask for ourselves the same amount of faith in our intention to be just and honorable as we extend to them. It would be difficult to form a higher appreciation of the good that must result to that important interest by associating to improve agriculture, disseminate knowledge on all practical subjects, cultivate a general development of all our resources, and better the condition of all classes than we have done; but there is a point beyond which a laudable purpose may become " vaulting ambition." When the Grangers propose to establish a bank for the purpose of loaning money to farmers, we say Amen ; only bear in mind that your bankers will- be bankers in the true sense of the term, and. as such, will cease to be Grangers. When they express a determination to do away with all middle men, anclcrush out commission merchants, we say that is your self-imposed task : il you can carry it out to a successful issue, go ahead, but remember that you have not, and never can acquire, the facilities for the transaction of such enormous business and at the same time conduct your own legitimate avocations with profit and satisfaction. When they set out to build and possess their own fleets for the conveyance of their crops to markets of consumption, to regulate the rates of freight, to enter upon the very questionable experiment of loading grain in bulk, to build warehouses for the sheltering and keeping of grain, to establish stores for their exclusive trading, and to perform all the details connected with our agricultural interests, we may be permitted to direct their attention to the vast number of irons they will have in the fire. Functions of the nature specified can only be entrusted to thoroughly competent hands, and onco in full operation they will naturally lapse back to their respective individualities and become more or less independent of the cause which set them in operation. We take this occasion to again assure the Grangers that we are too sincerely their well-wisher to desire any failure on their part, or anything that may_ be construed into want of success, and that our warnings are penned in a spirit of amity. We would not see them blindly rush into error, and applaud them while attempting to compass impossibilities, norare we of those who would visit them with censure, in the event of disaster. Pulaski County.—At a meeting of the* Prairie Farmers' Union Central Associ»~ tion, Patrons of Husbandry, held in Fra-a*- cisville, Pulaski county, on the 4tli. of April, 1874, the following preamble- and resolutions were unanimously adopted: Wiibrkas, It is one of the prime objects of our Order to Inculcate temperance in our members; and, whereas, it has been the custom of men'-who are candidates for office to secure their, election partly through the influence of whisky; and, whereas, it has also been the custom of friends to use their influence In like manner.iit is, t hefefare, Resolred, That we hereby pledge, ourselves, that we will not support any man foe olfice, of whatever kind, who will attempt to influence his.elec« tion, either directly or indirectly, by or through the influence of Intoxicating drinks of any kind, Iie.iolfl:oe%, That we will not support nny man for office who is an habitualdrlnUer.or who la Known to be in the habit of getting, intoxicated, thoiiglt it he only occasionally. Resolved, That we, and each of usl pledge our honor that we will no^ parclias**) intoxicating drink for any one, neither will we accept a drink purchased by another for political influences. lie solved, That to wi U usi; our influence 1,9 secure the nomination and, election of farmers alone for all local offices. Jf. S, I>K \kK, Sec'y. S****-*-- V*®
Object Description
Title | Indiana farmer, 1874, v. 09, no. 16 (Apr. 25) |
Purdue Identification Number | INFA0916 |
Date of Original | 1874 |
Subjects (LCSH) |
Agriculture Farm management Horticulture Agricultural machinery |
Subjects (NALT) |
agriculture farm management horticulture agricultural machinery and equipment |
Genre | Periodical |
Call Number of Original | 630.5 In2 |
Location of Original | Hicks Repository |
Coverage | United States - Indiana |
Type | text |
Format | JP2 |
Language | eng |
Collection Title | Indiana Farmer |
Rights Statement | Content in the Indiana Farmer Collection is in the public domain (published before 1923) or lacks a known copyright holder. Digital images in the collection may be used for educational, non-commercial, or not-for-profit purposes. |
Repository | Purdue University Libraries |
Date Digitized | 2010-09-30 |
Digitization Information | Original scanned at 300 ppi on a Bookeye 3 scanner using internal software. Display images generated in CONTENTdm as JP2000s; file format for archival copy is uncompressed TIF format. |
Description
Title | Page 1 |
Subjects (LCSH) |
Agriculture Farm management Horticulture Agricultural machinery |
Subjects (NALT) |
agriculture farm management horticulture agricultural machinery and equipment |
Genre | Periodical |
Call Number of Original | 630.5 In2 |
Location of Original | Hicks Repository |
Coverage | Indiana |
Type | text |
Format | JP2 |
Language | eng |
Collection Title | Indiana Farmer |
Rights Statement | Content in the Indiana Farmer Collection is in the public domain (published before 1923) or lacks a known copyright holder. Digital images in the collection may be used for educational, non-commercial, or non-for-profit purposes. |
Repository | Purdue University Libraries |
Digitization Information | Orignal scanned at 300 ppi on a Bookeye 3 scanner using internal software. Display images generated in CONTENTdm as JP2000s; file format for archival copy is uncompressed TIF format. |
Transcript | :1,^l.ii!Ulii:i;',ii.i!::J;lii!!;:!.ii!i5 VoL IX. INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, APRIL 25, 1874. i No. 16. Liyg Stock* CARE OF TEAM HORSES. The following good advice to teamsters has been published in the form of a showy poster, and sent out by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. It is signed by Daniel H. Blanch- ard, and. endorsed by several veterinary surgeons, agents of railway and express companies, and by Chas. A. Currier, special agent of the society. ; WHAT CONSTITUTES A GOOD DRIVER.' 1. A man who sees that good care is taken of his horse in the stable, by being well fed with wholesome food, of cracked corn, and oats, with plenty of good hay. Potatoes, or carrots, may be given once or twice a week to good advantage. See that he is kept clean, warm and comfortable, with plenty of bedding. A piece of rock salt should always be left in the manger. 2. He should see that his harness- is kept soft and clean, particularly the inside* of the collar, which ought always tb be smooth, as the perspiration, when dry, causes irritation, and is liable to produce galls on the shoulder. The collar shbuld fit closely, with space enough at the bottom to admit a man's hand. If too large, it has the bad effect of drawing the shoulders together. On no consideration should a team, or any work horse be compelled to wear a martingale, as it draws the head down, and prevents him from getting into an easy and natural position. -The check- rein may be used, but only tight enough to keep the head in £. natural position, and it should never be wound around the hames. See that the hames are buckled tight enough at the top to bring the draught iron near the centre of the collar. If too low, it not only interferes with the action of the shoulder, but gives the collar an uneven bearing. Caution should be taken that the girt is not buckled too tight, particularly on string teams, for wnen the traces are straightened, it has the tendency to draw the girt against the.belly,,and distress the horse. 3. See that the horse is kept well shod with a good stiff shoe, always calked at toe and heel on the hind feet, as it is there where all the propelling power comes from when heavily loaded. Keep the feet good and strong, by not allowing them to be cut away too much by the blacksmith. 4. The best of judgment should be used in loading, taking into consideration the condition of the street, and the distance to be travelled. Never overload, for by so doing, you onlj* strain and discourage your horse, and do him more injury than you can possibly gain by_carrying the extra load. When your load is hard to pull, stop often, and give your horse a chance to breathe. No good driver will ever resort to the cruel practice of whipping or beating his horse. A light whip may be carried, but there is seldom use for it. Much more can be accomplished by kind treatment and good judgment. Remember, the horse is a very intelligent, proud, sensitive, noble animal, the most useful known to man, and is deserving of the greatest kindness. •—— Cows for the Dairy.—In a paper read before the Northwestern Dairymen's Association, Mr. Chester Hazen, while discussing the kind of cows most suitable for the dairy, remarked : What is needed here in the West is the best cows we can get; and if well fed and cared for, there is no doubt but they will yield a good profit to the dairyman. I believe every dairyman should raise some heifer calves every season from his best cows. And when you get them started keep them growing until they are cows. I cannot afford to raise calves and let them stand still or go back in the winter. Keep them growing, and if you do well by them, they will come in when two years old, and invariably make better cows than they will to come in at three years, because, coming in at two years checks their growth in bone and develops their milking qualities, making a much more desirable cow; whereas, if allowed to run until three years old they grow too coarse and masculine for first-, class milkers. This has been my experience in breeding milking stock. If you wish to breed grade stock of any blood, breed from a full-blooded bull. A grade bull is not to be_relied upon to produce anything like a uniformity of stock, which would be a serious objection to a good dairyman or breeder. A large, coarse cow, with heavy carcass to support, is not as profitable for the dairy, as a medium or undersized ccw that is a good milker. It requires a certain amount of feed to support the carcass in proportion (usually) to its size, and a small Kcow, that will give as much milk as a large jone, is decidedly the best for the dairy. I But some would say the larger cow, when jshe is no longer profitable for milk, is worth more for beef. That may be true, but to support 200 pounds extra of carcass for ten years, will much more than balance the difference in the value of the cows when fattened for beef. A good dairy cow that will pay two or three times what her carcass is worth for beef every year in milk, is far more valuable for the dairy, even if the carcass was worthless for beef. But this is not the case. The real difference in favor of the large cow for beef, is only the difference in the number of pounds of beef. I believe I can keep five cows of 800 pounds each on the same feed that would be required to keep four cows of 1,000 pounds each, and if I bred carefully from first-class milking stock, they would produce one-fifth more milk, or twenty per cent., which would be a net profit of twenty per cent, in favor of the smaller cows. Perhaps 800 pounds is rather light for a -first-class dairy cow, but my experience is decidedly in favor of medium or undersized cows.—Nat. Live St. Journ. himself, hiring help only when it is necessary—for harvesting hay, shearing, etc., thesheep will pay Shim §3.00 per head, as against $2.00 wnen'ttelp is hired liberally. Mr. Myers estimates his sheep to be worth 13.50 each. On 1,00*0 sheep the investment would be $3,500; ind, as the net profit shown above amouits to SI ,705, the return on the 'investment \jts over 50 per cent Ohio Farmer. Value of Goon Blood.—Mr. L. AV. Towne, Superintendent of the Hannibal & St. Jo Railroad, who is, it appears, the owner ofa large stock farm in Missouri, in a letter written to Mr. T. F. Oakes, Freight Agent ofthe Kansas Pacific Railway, gives the following particulars Jto illustrate the importance of good blood in a breeding boar: In the fall of 1871 I sold Mr. Wm. Dudley,' of Palmyra, Marion county, Mo., a Berkshire boar, bred on my Feed Young Chickens Often.—The chicks should be" feed often, six times a' day at least," for a day is an age to a chicken, and meal time is always coming round. A varied diet is best for chickens, as well as for fowls, and should consist mostly of soft food—a few angle worms if obtainable, bread wet with milk, Indian meal—in fact, anything easily digested. It takes little or no more grain to grow a chicken to the weight of a couple of pounds early in the season, and the price per pound is double or treble, in case of the early chickens. If it is wished to improve a breed of fowls in size, early chickens are preferable to raise for stock. It is well known that bantams are propagated by rearing late and consequently dwarfish chickens. When the chicks begin to run about freely, great care should be taken to keep them out of the power of hawks. A common device in Eastern Connecticut, is to set up a little Pafnms of Husknilrg. THE GRANGERS. f-Ci-c.ift.rJCLi.as zitfi. jdiisrs BERKSHIRE SOW "BEAUTY"-WEIGHT, 600 POUNDS. ?E0PEBTT OF JAMES BILET. TH0ENT0WN. INDIANA. Gapes in Chickens.—Early spring chickens are always desirable on the farm, and as now is the time that they are to be most particularly cared for, perhaps a few words on the disease known as "gapes" may not be amiss. As I have never known of an infallible cure, I think-prevention the better practice. When I first commenced raising chicks, it was on old farm where the gapes had been a terror for twenty years, and the former owners had almost given up trying to keep fowls ; but to the astonishment of all the neighbors I loBt not a single chick with the disease, and I have never had a single, ease in* the last fifteen years. I always confine the mothers in a small coop, with a board floor in at least half of it. and allow the chicks to roam where they please. These coops are frequently moved. I feed them, while young, with dough made from corn ground quite coarse, and wetted very sparingly. Just as soon as they can-eat small grain, wheat screenings, etc., -1 give but little dough, then, as they increase in size, feed corn, etc. I have noticed that all who feed entirely on corn_ meal dough, made tcet, complain that their chickens have the gapes. A neighbor, who has a small horse power corn crusher, cracks his corn to feed his young chicks, and never had a case of gapes. He sold his farm,_ and _ the new comer loses one-half of his chicks with this disease. Many other cases could be mentioned, which shows that the manner of feeding has much to do with this complaint. Delos Wood. North Madison, Ind. farm, six months old; he weighed, at that time, one hundred and seventy pounds, This boar was used on common or grade sows, and his product the following year was two car-loads, or one-hundred hogs, weighing two hundred and_ seventy-five to three hundred pounds, which, were sold in St. Louis at three-fourths of a cent per pound over the market price, on account of tlieir breeding, having extra-large hams and shoulders in proportion to weight. Capt. John Nichols, of Palmyra, Marion county, Mo., bought a Berkshire boar of me in 1871. In the winter of 1872 he sold to A. S. Stillweel, of Hannibal, one hundred and one head of hogs from this boar, from one-half to three-fourth Berkshire, fifteen months old, averaging three hundred and thirty-six pounds, being the best lot of hogs ever sold in this market of one man's raising. They were kept in the usual way, on clover, through the summer, and fed just ten weeks.—Nat. Lice Stock Journal. wind-mill with a pair of clappers attached, the whirling arms and rattling clappers proving a very good scarecrow.—Live Stock Journal. Sheep Farming in Nebraska.—A correspondent in Nebraska sends us the following encouraging "showing," made by Mr. Myers, of Gage county, a sheep farmer, who has been about four years in that State: Mr. Myers thus "figures" the problem of sheep farming in Nebraska, with a flock of 1,000 head :—100 tons of hay, costing $3.00 per ton for putting up, $300; 500 bushels of sheaf oats, $100; shepherding for eight months, $150; wages of one man for four, months, $100; do., one month, $30; washing, shearing and packing wool, $200; salt, $35; shedding for winter, $50; losses at two per cent. $70— total, $1,035. By 4,500 pounds of wool, at 40c per pound, $1,800; 400 lambs, at $2.50, $1,000: total, $2,800. Mi-. Myers considered his allowance for expenses very liberal. He charges hay at too high a figure; and the percentage of loss is not generally so large as stated, as sheep are subject to no disease whatever on the Nebraska prairie. One man also could take charge ofa flock ofa thousand during the summer months; and, in winter, one boy could feed them, as it is best to let the sheep run to the hay all the time, and the oats are to be fed in the sheaf. Mr. Myer further^ claims that if a farmer will do most of his work Care of Young Turkeys.—A successful turkey raiser writes that he regards dough made of Indian meal as injurious to young turkeys. His method of feeding is to make bread of Indian meal, and to bake either in ovens or the ashes, and after the bread cools to crumble^ it up pretty fine and then stir in buttermilk until the whole assumes about the consistency of tolerably thick batter. Young turkeys relish this food amazingly. They should be fed from six to eight times a day until they are large enough to follow their mothers through the fields in search of crickets, grasshoppers and such green food as they may require in their rambles. A little beef "scrap-cake," made soft by soaking or boiling, is also capital food for them. Dry and commodious coops or pens should be provided in which to confine the young turkeys and their mothers in stormy weather, and also to keep them from wandering off early in the morning while the dew is still upon the grass. When confined in wet weather, onion-tops or other green food should be chopped fine and fed to them, as green food seems to be eminently promotive of their health. After turkeys are three or four months old, they may be fed on wheat, oats, corn, and any sort of refuse meat that has not been salted.— Young Folks Rural. Sale of Short-Horns.—I have recently sold Short-horns to the following parties: To J. E. & C. B. Knowles, Clinton, Ind., "Sydney Carton," 13,002; got by Bluff Airdrie 9,538 out of Zelena by Major Duncan, 5927.. To F.: P. Healy, Andalusia, Rock Island co.. Ills., "Orphan Boy," by Duncan's Airdrie 5615 out of Bonnie Eyes, 2d, by Sir William Wallace, 3,443, and heifer "Formosa," by Bluff Airdrie, 9538, out of White Twin, by Major Duncan, 5927. Claude Matthews. Clinton, Ind. Bots in Horses.—The complete in- efficacy of the various popular panaceas for bots in horses may be better understood when we come to know something of the nature of these persistent parasites. They are not worms, but larvae of a fly, and are possessed of remarkable powers of endurance under adversity. Thc most insiuuating substances are but as milk and honey to them, and in an instance recorded a colony of them attached to the stomach of a dead horse were in no way inconvenienced by an hour's exposure to a bath of spirits of turpentine. But when whale oil was poured upon them they let go tlieir hold and died almost instantly. Now. whale oil being thus indicated as an effective dose, and being aperient in its action upon the horse, would seem to be tho remedy that should bo chosen before any other. At least it might be well to havo some experiments made and the results carefully noticed and made note of.— Practical Farmer. [For the Indiana Farmer. A FARMER WHO MAKES FARMING PAY. M. B. P.ingo, of Clay county, says: I have been engaged for the last sixteen or eighteen years in the raising, feeding and handling of cattle and hogs, with a reasonable degree of success. But for the last five or six years I have paid more< attention to breeding, grazing and feeding cattle than any other kind of stock. I have at this time about one hundred and twenty head, all of my own breeding. My cattle are all a very fair class of grade shorthorns. I raise my own feed and have my own pasture. Butter making has become an interesting business with us for the last two or three years. My wife made and sold in the year 1872 3,372 pounds of butter for which she realized $897. In 1873 she. sold 3,201 pounds, receiving for the same $894 75. For the past two years we have milked from fifteen, to twenty cows. This year we milk from twenty to thirty, and the average yield of butter per month is about 325 pounds, for which we have received a fraction over one hundred dollars per month. Our place of market is Knightsville, Clay county. __ . m » Good Management Pays.—In the spring of 1873, J. H. Harrison of Annapolis, Ind., sold to Mr. Burnsides of Portland Mills, Ind., a pair of White Holland turkeys for five dollars. The ben laid sixty- three eggs, from which he raised fifty-two turkeys. These he sold before wintering them for four dollars per pair, or $108. Who can beat this? It takes care to bring such results, but it always pays. We clip the following from a California paper. It is written in so kind a spirit that we commend its consideration to the Patrons of Husbandry : The Grangers as a body, cannot be reasonably held responsible for what either one or two may say, nor are their acts to be judged by what one, or half a dozen might do. It would be strange, indeed, if a numerous and powerful organization could not find among its members men of sufficient intellectual capacity and brain power to devise means for the betterment of their condition ; but it is also fatally true of mankind • that the possession of power almost always involves a disposition to wield it with intolerance, which frequently degenerates into fanaticism and tyranny. This is especially applicable in eases where the acquisition of power is sudden and falls into hands unused to the vast responsibility attaching to its possession. While we frankly and joyfully applaud many of the acts of the Grangers, we cannot consistently give that countenance to others inaugurated by them, nor indorse some of the opinions they have advanced. Recognizing the fact that-our agricultural classes compose the great backbone and solid structure of our material prosperity, and bestowing upon them all the honor and credit which" of right pertains to such distinction, wo ask for ourselves the same amount of faith in our intention to be just and honorable as we extend to them. It would be difficult to form a higher appreciation of the good that must result to that important interest by associating to improve agriculture, disseminate knowledge on all practical subjects, cultivate a general development of all our resources, and better the condition of all classes than we have done; but there is a point beyond which a laudable purpose may become " vaulting ambition." When the Grangers propose to establish a bank for the purpose of loaning money to farmers, we say Amen ; only bear in mind that your bankers will- be bankers in the true sense of the term, and. as such, will cease to be Grangers. When they express a determination to do away with all middle men, anclcrush out commission merchants, we say that is your self-imposed task : il you can carry it out to a successful issue, go ahead, but remember that you have not, and never can acquire, the facilities for the transaction of such enormous business and at the same time conduct your own legitimate avocations with profit and satisfaction. When they set out to build and possess their own fleets for the conveyance of their crops to markets of consumption, to regulate the rates of freight, to enter upon the very questionable experiment of loading grain in bulk, to build warehouses for the sheltering and keeping of grain, to establish stores for their exclusive trading, and to perform all the details connected with our agricultural interests, we may be permitted to direct their attention to the vast number of irons they will have in the fire. Functions of the nature specified can only be entrusted to thoroughly competent hands, and onco in full operation they will naturally lapse back to their respective individualities and become more or less independent of the cause which set them in operation. We take this occasion to again assure the Grangers that we are too sincerely their well-wisher to desire any failure on their part, or anything that may_ be construed into want of success, and that our warnings are penned in a spirit of amity. We would not see them blindly rush into error, and applaud them while attempting to compass impossibilities, norare we of those who would visit them with censure, in the event of disaster. Pulaski County.—At a meeting of the* Prairie Farmers' Union Central Associ»~ tion, Patrons of Husbandry, held in Fra-a*- cisville, Pulaski county, on the 4tli. of April, 1874, the following preamble- and resolutions were unanimously adopted: Wiibrkas, It is one of the prime objects of our Order to Inculcate temperance in our members; and, whereas, it has been the custom of men'-who are candidates for office to secure their, election partly through the influence of whisky; and, whereas, it has also been the custom of friends to use their influence In like manner.iit is, t hefefare, Resolred, That we hereby pledge, ourselves, that we will not support any man foe olfice, of whatever kind, who will attempt to influence his.elec« tion, either directly or indirectly, by or through the influence of Intoxicating drinks of any kind, Iie.iolfl:oe%, That we will not support nny man for office who is an habitualdrlnUer.or who la Known to be in the habit of getting, intoxicated, thoiiglt it he only occasionally. Resolved, That we, and each of usl pledge our honor that we will no^ parclias**) intoxicating drink for any one, neither will we accept a drink purchased by another for political influences. lie solved, That to wi U usi; our influence 1,9 secure the nomination and, election of farmers alone for all local offices. Jf. S, I>K \kK, Sec'y. S****-*-- V*® |
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