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The Commoner
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VOL. 14, NO. 10
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In the Field of Agriculture
HORSH
OR THE TIIAOTION
ENGINE?
Tho United States government de
partment of Agriculture has esti
mated that it costs $75 to $80 per
yoar to keep a horse, and in a study
of horse utility for a period covering
six years, it was found that ho avor
agod only 3.14 hours of work per day
as his contribution to lessoning the
high cost of living.
In contrast with this it was found
that ho ato up tho entire yield of one
out of every Ave acres which he help
ed to cultivate It has been shown,
too, for overy hour ho worked It cost
about 16 cents; whereas, a full horse
power hour can bo delivered by a
hlgh-grado oil engine for only 2 cents
por hour, in both cases, interest, fuel,
food and depreciation being included.
Again, in plowing, a team of two
horses can plow only about two acres
por day. In doing this, they travel
sixteen miles, which is a good day's
pull for horses with a load. A small
tractor, on tho other hand the kind
which costs less than six horses,
weighs less .than six, and with a ca
pacity doing tho work of twelve
will plow fully that much in an hour
or so.
It will, furthermore, plow it deep
or and keep it up twenty-four hours
each day until tho work is completed,
without feeding, resting or growing
thin. While it would not bo wise to
dispose of brood mares and blooded
stock to satisfy the foreign buyers, in
tho end, perhaps, the increased prices
which thoir purchases will undoubt
edly bring about will be beneficial in
forcing thousands of farmers.to adopt
a newer and more economical form
of power.
of tho township and range of that par
ticular locality. Ho may then ascer
tain of the United States land office
for the district in which tho land is
situated, whether 1here are any va
cant lands in particular townships.
These diagrams are usually furnish
ed by tho local land offices at a cost
of $1 each, provided the pressure of
business in the local office does not
render the preparation thereof im
practicable. The records of the va
rious land offices are also open to
public inspection for the purpose of
ascertaining tne location or tno va
cant public lands, providing such in
spection does not interfere with the
orderly dispatch of the public business.""
soil. Swamp lands well drained pro
duce an abundant growth, especially
of stems and leaves, hence these are
specially adapted to growing soy
beans for soiling food.
SUDAN GRASS
TIG FEEDiNG EXPERIMENT
HOW TO GET GOVERNMENT TjAND
Readers of The Commoner will be
Interested to know the amount of
government land yet open to entry,
Its location and character, and the
methods of procedure necessary to
acquire it. Following is a reply to
tho inquiry of a reader of the Ne
braska Farmer, made hy tho United
States laud office at Washington, D.
C:
"There are public lands subject to
homestoad entry in tho states of
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Califor
nia, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota,
Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ne
vada, Now Mexico, North Dakota,
Oklahoma, Oregon, South. Dakota,
Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and
Wyoming.
"The approximate area of tho va
cant public lands in the various
counties and states is given in Office
Bulletin No. 335. Tho homestead
laws and regulations thereunder are
set forth in Circular No. 290. Copies
of these circulars will be furnished
freo upon individual requests ad
dressed to the Commissioner of the
General Land Office, Washington. D.
C.
"Tho land department does not
employ-locaters, and while some pri
vate parties make a business of point
ing out desirable lands for a con
sideration, any fees which they may
charge are matters between tho inter
ested parties, and this office does not
exercise jurisdiction thereover.
"A person desiring to make a
homestead entry should first deter
mine In what particular locality he de
sires to enter land, and by consult
ing a state map showing the township
and range lines ascertain the number
An account of an interesting ex
periment in pig feeding at the Ken
tucky state fair grounds at Louisville
is related in a recent Issue of Farm
and Family. Five lots of pigs were
placed on feed on Juno 17, and a
month later were weighed and re
sults noted. The final result of the
test would be announced at the an
nual meeting of the Kentucky state
fair, it was said.
The results obtained for the first
month were: Lot No. 1 was composed
of four pigs of the scrub type. They
were fed a' balanced ration of ten
parts middlings, ten parts corn meal,
two parts brt-n, one part tankage and
blue grass pasture. They made a
gain per day of 1.27 pounds at a cost
of 5 4-10 cents per pound of gain.
Lot No. 2, described as common type,
fed corn in a dry lot, made a gain of
.93 pounds per day at a cost of 5 6-10
cents per pound of gain. Lot No. 3,
common type, fed balanced ration in
dry lot, gained 1.46 pounds per day
at a cost of 4 7-10 cents per pound.
Lot No. 4, common type, fed corn
and blue grass pasture, gained .82
pounds per day at a cost of 6 2-10
cents a pound. Lot No. 5, pure bred
Berkshires, fed balanced ration and
blue grass pasture, gained 1.51
pounds per day at a coBt of 4 cents
a pound. Tho Berkshires therefore
made the largest gains at the cheap
est cost por pound. The final result
of tho test will be watched for with,
interest by all pig raisers. So far the
demonstration 7. as proved the value
of pure breds as against scrub pigs.
Sudan grass, which is closely re
lated to the cultivated sorghums, is
an excellent forage crop in the cen
tral great plains of North- Dakota,
and promises to fill a long felt want
for a hay grass in the south, is the
conclusion of Farmers' Bulletin, No.
605, shortly to be published by tho
United States department of agricul
ture. Sudan grass is an annual, the
leaves of which are broader and
more numerous than those of John
son grass. It is distinguished from
the Johnson grass, to which it is re
lated, by the absence of root stocks,
and while this necessitates annual
planting it also prevents Sudan grass
from becoming an obnoxious weed
like tho perennial Johnson grass.
When seeded broadcast or in drills,
it averages about three to five feet in
height and has stems a little smaller
than a' lead pencil. When' grown in
rows and cultivated, it reaches a
height of six to nine feet, with rather
large stems. The hay- of the culti
vated crop is somewhat coarser than
that of the broadcast crop and is not
so desirable for market hay.
Sudan grass does best on a rich
loam, but it has been grown success
fully on almost every class of soil
from a heavy clay to a light sand.
Where the soil is quite sandy, a light
yield may be expected. The ground
must be fairly well drained.
When given plenty of room the
grass stools very freely, especially
.after the first cutting, and it is not
uncommon to find over 100 stems
arising from one crown.
RATIONS FOR SWINE
THE SOY BEAN
The soy bean will thrive at least
measurably well ou almost any kind
of soil, providing this soil has in it
a liberal supply of potash, phosphor
ic acid and lime, says the Oklahoma
Farmer. It will, however, thrive
best on soils which may be termor!
medium in texture. Nearly all classes
of Boils found on the open nrairlo ara
.well adapted to the growth of this
plant, and the same is true of all soilB
that will produce good crops of In
dian corn. It may be successfully
grown on land too low In fertility tn
produce clover or cow peas. Instances
are recorded in which plants have
been grown in disintegrated trap
rock and in coal ashes, and yet some
of the light soils of the southern
states may be so deficient in phos
phoric acid and potaBh and even ni
trogen as to make it worth while to
apply those ingredients before plant
ing the crop. Nor should it be plant
ed on soils in which hardpan comes
near the surface, since in such in
stances the root which naturally feed
deeply could not easily penetrate the
It is more desirable to make pigs
grow rapidly than to get too fat, says
D. O. Thompson, Perdue university.
Pigs show their greatest response to
a balanced ration before they reach
weight of 125 pounds. Skim milk is
about the best feed that can be used
to supplement corn. When this Is
not available the following ratton iB
very desirable: Corn, 6 parts ; shorts,
4 parts, and tankacre. 1 nnrt- Tim
corn may be fed as ear corn and the
shorts and tankage fed as a thick
slop.
Four successful rations for preg
nant sows are: 1 Corn, 60 to 65 per
uuut, Huoris, du per cent; tankage, 5
to 10 per cent. 2 Corn, 60 per cent;
shorts, 30 per cent; linseed oilmeal,
10 per cent. 3 Corn, one-third;
shorts, one-third; oats, one-third. 4
-Corn, one-third; shorts, one-third:
bran, one-third.
Both the pigs and the sow will
thrive much better if given plenty of
range whore they mav hnv avQt,n
It is very desirable to have bluegrass
ut iyo imucure on winch to let them
run during the winter time.
When the pigs arrive at a weight
when it becomes desirable to fatten
them, a ration of corn 9 parts and
tankage 1 part will be found satisfac
tory at the outset, and as the pigs
become fatter, tho proportion of tank
age may be reduced to 15 parts of
corn to 1 part of tankage. 16 is W
to keep the tankage in the ration un
til the hogs are ready for market
ORIGINAL ALFALFA METHOD
W. P. Givens, one of the successful
alfalfa growers of Kentucky has an
original method of handling his
fields. He uses a spring tooth har
row with teeth much narrowed at the
points immediately after each cutting
Occasionally he also uses a double
cutting disk, and when he gets
through cultivating his alfalfa it
iooks almost UKe a corn field pre
pared for planting.
KEEPING 'RECORDS OF DAIRY
COWS
In no other business except farm
ing has general 'success been attain
ed without the use of business meth
ods, Buch as keeping records of the
various transactions. With the in
creasing cost of farm operations and
keener competition in selling, suc
cess under these conditions is becom
ing less and less certain. Careful at
tention to details is essential to suc
cess in dairying, and as a result the
most successful dairy farmers are
keeping records of the individual
cows.
The use of the Babcock test and
scales enables the farmer to keep on
accurate account of what each cow
is producing, thus making it possible
for him to weed out his poor cows
intelligently and build up a good
producing herd. The method is sim
ple, easy to understand, and requires
but little labor. For keeping these
records, the following articles will be
needed: Scales, milk sheets, Babcock
testing outfit, and blank books for
permanent records of each cow. Ex
tension Bulletin No. 25, Nebraska
College of Agriculture.
FALL HATCHED OHIOKS
Forty cents a pound for chicken
not capon roasters "sound's attrac
tive to the seller, writes B. F. W.
Thorpe in Farm and Fireside. A few
ate getting this fancy figure, and
more can do so. The fortunate ones
do it this way.
Chicks are hatched in October or
thereabouts and raised in comfort
able quarters where they can be kept
healthy and busy scratching in dry
litter in the sunshine and still be pro
tected from draft and storms at all
times.
These birds of the larger breeds
are kept growing steadily till May,
when they are crate fattened for two
1720 Colorado
Boulevard
Denver, Colo.
FB$
PATENTS
Wation E. Colemanf
Pateat Lawyer,Waahlnglon,
Tt If Arlrrrya unit Hnnlfd frpp.
nates reasonable. Highest references. Beat service
QOVERNMKNT SALE orindlan Tlmbor Lands
Thoro will bo oflorod at public auction at tho
Places and times heroin named at not less than the
appralsod value, about 0C7.O0O acres of tlmbor Innds
with standing tlmbor thoroon, which includes
about 84l.347.noo foot of pine, as estimated in 1911,
and approximately 14.27C.000 foet of hardwood, lo
cated in tho Choctaw Nation, southeastern Okla-bm,a-,
TV088'00' tho lands In Pittsburg County
will bo hold at McAllister. November 3; in Latimer
County at Wllburton, November 4 and 5; In Lo
Floro County, at Poteau, Novomnor 6 and 7; and In
Pushmataha and McOurtaln Counties, at Hugo-Nr-vombor
9. 10. 11 and 12, 1014, Bids may bo sub
muted in person or by agent with power of attor
ney, or by mall, r and and timber will bo sold to
father. Land will bo offered In tracts notoxccedlng
iwi acres. Ono person can only purchase one
quarter section of agricultural land, but is not llm
i i,t0 tuo nuUQbor or acres or non-ngr'cultural
!nn, . .rm.s Dor ccnt ca8". balance in threo an
"?ttyptounpnUiof26 per cent each, with Interest
?i Jf pv" contbutPavmonts ay be completed any
time, immediate possession given after approval
orS.iSr. "wWo'ico on land not coqulrod. Removal
or portion or timber pormltted as paid for. Im
E?v,2mei.t? ?n lRnd, consisting of a fow scattered
houses, will bo appraised and sold with tho land
nndlho-n reimbursed wherothoy aronot tbo
fiEff),,bld(lrr8 Th0 r,cht t tovo technical
n,?,n,nt.,YFtl,KOInont3 and u,ds. and to reject
S?,".?. aU ,,,df 1? reserved. Dotalled Inrormatlon.
?,.nI,tecr,p.t,v.e llstsshowlng tho quantity and
win iPJ ,'smon,t f timber and land in each tract,
wiii M.d.n.Tlb?1Uy to railroads ofoach tract,
SJn?!?.b0 d'Ptlve lists and maps should bo
S Commissioner to the Five Civilized
n?nn2 Fif006' Oklahoma. Remittances for
mio?,Bn.ouliboma(loPftJral1o to George N. Wise.
nwTTa,'cAB0Pt Muskogee, Oklahoma. OAT5
BELLS, CommlMloneroflndian Afl&lra.
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