PROFITABLE PRODUCTION OF BABY BEEF
ON FARM IN SOUTHWESTERN PART OF IOWA
Xbe
Grade Beef-Breed Cows and Good Pure-Bred Angus Bulls Used as
Foundation Stock for Operations Pasture Provided
With Shack, and Water.
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Chickans onjoy frco rango.
Kcop all aloeptng plncos dry.
Mulch the rhubarb with manure.
Clipping horses' lags Is not a good)
praatlco.
It in tlmo now to prapsra tho ewes
for tha noxt mating season.
. It Is bad policy to "woan young pigs
Suddenly and put thorn on cows' skim
milk.
Sheep ought to bo kept becauso of.
tho lnlluonco which thoy exort upon
fertility. ,
Try to arrange to glvo each horse
on tho farm a threo woks' vacation
on grass.
The tlmo spent In company of tho
sheep will pay arid success will
crown your labors.
If winter dairying la to bo tho most
profitable It must bo planned for defi
nitely In advance.
Tho young pig wants to be got out
into the sunshine and on to tho dirt
as early in life as possible.
Sheep at six years of ago loso their
teeth; henco they should bo fattened
and sold before this period.
This is a good time to put a square
of tar paper In tho bottom of each
nest box for tho benefit of Uco.
Do not neglect to provldo clean
water for tho poultry. Dirty water Is
dirty at any season of the year.
If tho strawberries have been picked
two seasons, spade up tho beds and
sow tho land for somo late-planted
. crop.
Know whether a plant requires a
situation dry or moist, hot or cool.
sunny or shady to know whore to put
that plant.
Tho lady-bugs or lady-birds arc
small turtle-shaped booties which feed
upon plant life In both tho larval and
adult stages.
Some plants cannot bo thoroughly
weeded with, tho hoo. In those cases
ovory weed should bo carefully
plucked by hand.
Plant a cover crop in tho orchard.
Jlye, barloy. wheat and oats are good
non-leguminous plants, but tho Io
gumes are bettor.
The farmers and fruit growers of
this country aro losing over one bil
lion dollars annually by reason of the
ravages of insects. '
A dense flecco is valuable not alone
fbr tho increase in quantity of wool,
but for tho protoctlon that It affords
tho animal from the elements. t
Corn and alfalfa usually can bo at
tended to wlujh tho wheat needs no
care, thus distributing tho labor moro
equitably throughout the season.
i
Tf Uco and mites fail to pay enough
attention to other- treatments, try
burning them out with a torch. Dut
don't burn down tho house In order
to get tho vormln,
As a j-ule, it will not pay to hold
tho pig crop far prices to rise, un
less thoy aro being hold. Whilo a
few feeders win out In playing tho
market gamo, many more lose.
Mushrooms, on account of tho
amount of nitrogen they contain, ap
proach nearer to animal food than any
other vcgetablo product. An nnalyals
made by Prof. Attwood shows that
mushrooms contain 3.5 per cent, pro
telds. Anything that will dostroy weeds Is
worthy of the farmor'B attontion; any
thing that will maintain tho fertility
of the land demands his attention.
Sheep will do both, and aro thercforo
entitled to the nttcntion of every
farmer.
The dishonest ponltryman may
palm a dozen tad c(,-gs off on the
lady of tho houso, but tho cook will
expose tho dlbhoncst practice Hot
ter keep on tho right side of tho
cook by marketing none but strictly
fresh eggs, besides Incidentally aid
ing somo to your roputatlon.
It has been demonstrated to bo an
almost universal fact .hat topping
cotton ooes not do tho vork It Is in
tendedto check the growth of tho
leafy upper portion of the plant. In
stead, In most cases, it has a tendency
to causo the renewal of this growth
and In tho very place whoro It will do
tho most harm by shading tho bolls
In the middle of tho stalk.
Turkeys rolish green feed.
Dig holes for troos in tho fall.
VO-ips make good sheep fodder.
Tho Bcrub purebred Is tho greatest
failure.
Cattle scarcity Is still with us and
will remain for tho noxt two years.
Your horso may Intend to plenso
you, but does not understand your
wlsheB.
Corn nnd alfalfa mako a combina
tion that cannot bo equaled on tho
dairy farm.
Whenever hogs aro confined to ono
feeding plnco a feeding floor should
bo provldod.
A lump of sugar or a blto of apple
will do moro In tho training of a colt
than n whip.
Farming on, a, buslnisR basis elim
inates smnll mules just as It displaces
small horsos.
A Iamb that Is largo nnd strong
will stand weaning hotter, nnd also
winter bettor.
Jinny practical hog ralaors aro now
using artificial wallows, built of either
cemont or lumber.
For aphis on sweet peas, uso insect
powder or tobacco dust, applying
with a Bmall bellows.
FIvo or six pounds of corn aro usu
ally required to produce a pound of
pork In dry-lot feeding.
If pigs aro well fed they will usual
ly wean themsolvos at tho proper
time, without any trouble.
Tho key to tho beo business is bco
forage and tho best boo forage known
at present Is sweet clover.
If a man cannot food hogs as well
as they should bo fed, ho ought to
sell them to a man that will.
Sheep aro a persistent agency of
Improvement to tho eoII of tho
farms on which thoy aro kept.
Tho levelness with which a horse
walks Is one of the best ovldoncea
that his legs work In harmony.
To thoroughly clean milk utensils
they first should bo rinsed with cold
water to removo nil particles of milk.
Gather up tho dead branches and
burn them, as they aro apt to harbor
bark beetles, ono of tho worst orchard
pests. )
Movo tho colony houses and brood
coops on fresh ground every day
or two, and tho chicks will grow
faster.
A chicken takes naturally to having
feed handed it, but tho turkey is al
most self-supporting until cold
weather.
Turkeys always find a ready salo
and are almost clear profit. There is
always a demand. Tho market is
never glutted.
The little chicks do best on corn
bread mado of sour milk, soda and
cracked corn. They should bo fed on
something clean,
Tho eggs from tho matured hen will
hatch better and produco stronger
chicks than the eggs of pullets. They
are usually larger, too.
Unlike other poultry, the turkey
novof has been thoroughly domesti
cated, but has remained practically a
wild bird in its 'requirements.
Tho meat of yarded poultry Is al
ways moro tender than that of
fowls having free range, duo to tho
extreme muscular development of
tho latter.
Never let young chickens perch un
til their breast bono can onduro tho
strain, as u crooked breast bone do
orcases a fowl's market value, as well
as breeding value.
A yield of 12 tons of silage may
easily bo obtained from ono aero of
corn. Allowing 30 pounds of sllago as
a dally ration, ono acre of corn will
furnlBh four cows with sllago for 200
days
New England dairymen find It prof
itable to feed grain to dairy cows ovop
when they nro on June pasture. fCan-
not wo afford some corn fodder for
our western cows now that pastures
aro drying up.
Chickens shmild have good, sweot
feed to mako good eggs, tho same aa
a cow should have sweet grains to
mako good sweet milk. How quick a
dairyman moves his cows when ha
finds garlic In his pasture.
Ureedlng poultry may servo a good
purpose in tho pot, but they should
not bo ponnlttud to propagate their
kind. Scrub hens should be mated
to puro bred1 mnleo so that tho breed
ing has an upward rather than a down
ward tendency.
The cow that sucks horself Is In al
most ovory caso n good milker. If
you havo ono of this klji try this be
foro you sell her: Ulna her as you
would a bull and In this ring hang an
other, forming two links of a chain.
It stops the sucking In most of tho
cases.
Angus Grass
(By I I SHOEMAKER, In tho Country
Olentlcnmn.)
' Judicious management, a knowledge
of cattle and values, and a nntural lik
ing for tho work havo rcnultod In tho
production of baby beof on a south
western Iowa farm at a, profit of $20
a head for sevoral successive years.
Wo used grade beef-bred cowb and
good purc-breil Angus, bulls aj the
foundation stock for our operations.
Wo reduced the cost of keeping tho
cows to a minimum in order to in
crease the profits on the finished calf.
The cows wero fed on cheap, home
grown roughages, supplemented In
part by a grain ration consisting large
ly of corn and cottonseed meal fed In
moderato quantities during tho Inst
few weeks prior to calving and con
tinued until tho grass became well
grown in tho spring. Caro agalust
feeding cottonseed meal In heavy
quantities prior to calving' lessened tho
danger of abnormal calf birth. Feed
ing the cows largely on such roughage
as oat straw, corn fodder and clovor
hay during the winter months, and let
tJng them remain on grasa as much as
possible during tho year, reduced the
cost of keeping thorn to $28 a year.
Wo managed to havo most of tho
calves come In tho spring, from Match
1st to March 15th, and, under our sys
tem of managing the cows, thoy came
strong and vigorous. Keeping the cow
In good physical tono prior to calving
by feeding a ration strong In ash and
protein content so as to stimulate the
milk How gavo tho calf a strong start
in life, and also kept tho cow In such
condition as to tide her over tho In
clement spring weather, which is tho
hardest drain upon her. Through a
careful manngomont of tho bull we
succeeded In having tho calves como
within a short period of each other
Ho was never allowed to run with the
cows during tho day. A good blue
grass pasture was provided for him.
and a grain ration consisting of oats
bran and cottonseed meal was given
during tho heavy breeding season.
The calves wero allowed to run on
tho pasture with their mothers after
tho grass had becomo well started In
tho spring and until the files had be
come bad and tho grass no longer fur
nished an abundance of green feed
The bull cnlves were then castrated
and tho entlro lot were put In n well
grown blue-grass pasture. This was
provided with nmplo fdiado and avail
able fresh water, but they wero allow
ed to nurso mornings and ovenlngs
A grain ration consisting of oats, bran
and a small amount of shelled corn
was distributed In trougha convenient
ly placed in tho pasture. As tho
calves becamo older tho grain ration
was gradually Increased. Little trou
ble wbb experienced in getting them
to cat again, and they wero soon eat
ing about three-fourths of a pound of
mixed grain per hundred pounds of
live weight. To this ration was added
a small amount of cottonseed meal
later In tho fall. Wo found that such
a ration gavo the most desirable gains
When tho second crop of clover in
tho bayflelda arrived in the fall the
calves wero changed to It from tho
bluo-grasB pasture After they had b
como accustomed to tho new feed tin-
weaning wns started, tho cow being
returned occasionally so that she
would gradually dry up In good con
dition. Tho calves wero allowed to
grazo upon tho clovor until late fall
In early winter they were given win
ter quarters. A well-drained lot. Blop
lng to tho east and south and pro
vided with an open shod nnd good wa
ter, furnished excellent conditions 'or
winter feeding. The shed floor vaa
kept well drained and bedded down
onco a weok: tho water was wanned
during freezing weather, a very im
portant matter, and roughages were
Fupplled In generous nmounts.
Iiy tho first of January our calves
weighed from 050 to 700 pounds and
wero In thrifty, growthy condition,
though not fat They had retailed,
however, tho natural calf fat which Is
eo necessary In making tho best qual
ity of baby beef at a profit. Tho grain
ration was Increased and cottoiiFted
meal was substituted for tho ca's
making a grain ration of two thirds
- Fed Steers.
corn and one-third cottonseed meal by
wuigm, ion ni mo rnio or a pounci pur
hundrad poundo of live weight.
Various roughages, all of which
wero grown on tho farm, wero fed.
Tho com fodder, usually shredded,
was fed in tho early winter together
with clover hay, and later In tho
spring oat straw was given instead of
tho corn fodder.
Tho following summer tho calves
vero given a good bluo-grass pasturo
and In addition a liberal grain ration.
Tho ration was not changed In compo
sition from that previously fed. When
tho grass wns in tho flush of growth
tho grain ration was somewhat de
creased. During tho entire grasB sea
son personal attention wns given to
tho feeding bo that tho calves would
not bo overfed. 1$ overfed the cost
Ib not only Increased but tho steers
get out of condition and frequently
will not gain bo well afterward.
They wero rlpo and well finished
beeves by September first and weigh
ed from 1,200 to 1,255 pounds, n de
sirable weight for such youngsters.
They commanded tho. top price for
Buch llght-flnlohod beeves. In com
puting tho cost for our productions wo
found that each calf had eaten frdm
27 to 30 bushels of corn, valued at
$tG.20; 0 bushels of oats at $2.40; cot
ton Beod meal, $7.50; grass, $10; hay
and foddor. $10, which, togcthor with
tho cost of keeping tho cow and tho
interest, mndo a total cost for produc
tion of about $75. Our young stock
varied In price from $0.75 to $9 a
hundredweight, making an nverago of
$7.50, which gave us a cash vauio of
about $90 a head. This left a total
of over $20 clear profit, charging our
work against tho manure prodiicod and
tho satisfaction of Beelng tho grains
and roughages marketed at homo and
tho land appreciably increased in for-,
tlllty and condition.
SELECTING GOOD
DAIRY ANIMALS
Systematic Plan of Examining
Calves Needed to Bring Herd
Improvement. .
(Hy W. M. KEIXY.)
Mauy dairymen mako a practice of
raising every heifer calf and fall to get
results. Then thoy select tho heifer
calves from tho beHt producing cows
and get nearer to what they want, but
still, thero aro many inferior cows
raised by them.
It Is not until wo begin to carefully
examine overy heifer caff that wo can
conduct any Bystemntlc plan of Im
proving tho quality of tho dairy herds,
for, unless tho calves aro good Indi
viduals and havo stamina and strong.
vigorous constitutions, no matter how
liberally thoy aro fed, Bomo will
fall to como up to the qualities of their
dams.
Every heifer calf should bo care
fully examined and If they ohow signs
of weakness they should not bo ralBcd.
Open their moutliB, and If you find,
after examining their teoth, thnt you
can bco but four of tho milk teoth, you
can maku up your mind that such a
calf is hardly worth raising.
Many ralBe their calves, but fow turn
out to bo profitable cows. Next ex
amine tho navol and teats. If tho
tcntB aro not placed in their right
position do not waste your tlmo and
food tryUig to mako a good cow out
of such ;i calf.
When' wo find a holfor calf that
comes up to our standard or require
ments and when wo decide to keep It
mo must not forget that Its valuo as
a cow depends larcly upon tha treat
ment that it receives during tho first
two years of its life.
Culvco must be well carod for and
fed In such a manner that they will
never lose their calf flesh,
Aftor they am a fow months old
they phould bo turned out and allowed
plenty of exercise and goon air bo that
they may build up 3trong muscled nnd
good strong organs of respiration.
NEW INDUSTRY IN PHEASANTS
Interest Becoming Widespread and
Thousand;! of Dlrds Now Scattered
Throughout Country.
(By W. I M'ATF.13.)
Conservation of tho fauna Including
tho gamo birds of tho United Stntcs
requires tho utrlct enforcement of
laws Intended to control tho uhooting
and ninrkotliiB of wild birds, and nec
essarily limits both tho porlod during
which they may bo hunted and the
number avnllablo to supply tho In
creasing demands of those who deslro
thoso table luxuries.
Tills lack may be remedied by tho
product of aviaries, prosorvos, and
private parks, dovotod to roaring of
domesticated gamo, tho marketing of
which under suitable safeguards In
already pormltted in several of the
states, indicating that Amorican mar
kets will open moro and moro to
thpso domesticated substitutes to tho
fast disappearing wild gamo.
At presont thcro Is no lack of de
mand for pheasants for various pur
poses. Owners of private preserves,
and stato gnmo officials, pay profitable
prices for certain Bpecles for stocking
tholr covers, zoological and city pnrkH
and owners of prlvato nvlarles nro
ready purchasers of tho rarer and
moro beautiful species, nnd largo
Rlngneck Pheasant.
numbers of dead pheasants aro annual
ly Imported from Europe to bo sold
for several times tho prlco thoy bring
In European countries. .Tho demand
for pheasants is increasing.
Rlngneck pheasants havo long been
established In Oregon, Washington
and British Columbia, nnd aro lest
common in tho wild stato in MasBachu
aotts, Now York, Indiana and Kansna
Efforts to acclimatlzo pheasants lr
tho United Slates aro of comparative
ly rccont origin, though earlier time
la popularly supposed.
Tho fow phcasnnt stomachs ox
amlned indicate that theso birdB are
very fond of grain. Oats nnd wheat
composed about 31 per cent, of tho food
Df 12 rlngneck pheasants collected Is
Oregon and Washington nnd 82.5 pci
:ont of tho stomach contents of, twe
English phensnnts from British Co
lumbla. But nil of theso birds wen
taken in Soptember, October and Do
comber; henco it Is probable that al
of this grain was waBto. Tho next
largest item of food in theso stomachi
waa Insects, consisting entirely of lar
vao of March Hies. One stomach con
tallied no fower than 3G0 of theso lar
vao and another 432. Tho romalndci
of tho food Included acorns, plno seeds
browse, poaB, roso hips, ltiplno, but
clovor, black mustard and chick
weed.
From 200 to 960 kernels of wheat
and oats woro taken by various birds;
about 200 peas wero found In one
stomach, but it waa ovidont that these
wore tho old and partly decomposed
refuso of tho harvest. Twenty-throe
acorns and 200 plno seeds wero taker
hy tho birds which ato tho largest
amount of mast, and about 800 cap
sulcs of chickwccd, containing mor
thnn 8,000 seeds, woro in tho stomact
of tho best weed scod eater.
What is most evident Is that phcas
nnts aro groBB foederB; tholr cnpablli
ties for good or harm aro great. If o
numbor of thom attack a crop'thoy arc
likely to mako short work of it, or it
they devoto thoniBelvco to weed seed
or insect pests they do a groat doal ol
good. It soemB therefore that the
question of tho economic valuo ot
pheasants Is peculiarly a local ono
Much depends on tho proportion ol
lnnd under cultivation, tho kind ot
cropB raised, and tho quantity of wild
food available. Apparently the
chances aro about oven that Imported
pheasants will or will not become
useful economic factors.
Clover for Fowls.
Clover Is hotter than any other haj
for fowls for tho reason that It pos
sesBOS egg making nutriment, ns wel!
as fiber to soparato the particles ol
grain. It Is not bulk (moro quantity)
that Is needed, but coareo fiber tc
Fcpnrat tho concentrated food in thi
stomach, that tho gastrlo Juices cat
circulate through tlio maB3.
3 imr'
ijpliEcpi
BtiBfca:iaiiiMMii'
Tlio President snt In his chair tho Chair
of Ancient Lit.
The Kneulty nut nit about nn thoy wero
wont to Bit;
Tho Prof, of Mathematics countcrt aum
upon his hands,
The Prof, of Deep "Dynamics nipped ai
bunch of rubber bands,
Tlio Prof, of Soclnl Science rubbed a fur-t
rowed, frowning brow,
Tlio Prof, of Mlxeil Psychology thought
ot tho Then nnd Now.
Tho President began to speak; hln volc
wnH mostly groan:
"I cannot understand why wo nro Bitting
hero nlouQ; '
The torm began two weeks ago, and still
within our halls
Thero nro no stildcnt Avhooplngs ami
thcro nro no raucua calls;
Tho bell Is In tho boltry and tho desks
nro on tho floor
There's been no riot such as In tho palmy
days of yoro.
"No himky lnils havo swaggered ns they
loitered In to class.
No freshmen havo been ordered to ko out
nnd cat tho crass,
No new oxrlvnla hnvii been seized and
chained ngnlnst n tico
And forced to glvo their ycrslon of MIoW
Does tlio Busy Ueoj
Why should tlio plnco bo vacant, nnd tha
enmp i allcnt thus?
Why Is thcro no on; In tho wliolo Ms
placo but US7"
Tlio man of mathematics tried to flguro
out tho proli.;
Tlio man of Soclnl Science drew deduc
tions on tho mob
And sketched a fulnro paper on "Tho
Blump of Intellect;"
Tlio ono who tnught paycbology at onco
tried to collect
A. lot of linzy statements on tlio Ifncss ot
tho That-
And lonesome wnven of wonder rollea
about them whero they uat.
Then spolco tho wlso professor, ho who
tnuclit ilvnamlo force:
"Inertia may bo trncei), na well aa mo
tion, to Its source',
i irl'
tT flirt Vrtll
mat UBCd to mnko our enmpus sonnil
pleaso oxcuso mo well,
I'll simply say tbnt bore's tho only col
lege In tho lnnfl
At which tho gnmo of. football Is official
ly banned."
Feature of His Business.
"I thought sho was n woman ol
nnbrpakablo will," sattl tho gentleman
with tho bob-tail coat N
"Anil so sho was," Bald tho man with
,tho incandescent -whiskers.
"Yet, you tell .mo sho Is completely
subgorvlont to hnr husband," went on
tho first gentleman.
"Well, you bco, 3ho marriod a law
yer, nnd ho broko tho will."
By Papa's 'System.
"How many auartB In n gallon?"
asked tho tachdr.
"Six," answered .tho llttlo son of tho
market man.
"No, no, Jonnny. Only four."
"Huh, I guess rvo scon 'em sell
enough strawberries to Imow."
Hla Plan.
"And do you aspect to make you
dlrlglblo balloon company a success?"
wo nsk of tho hlgh-'browed Inventor.
"Oh, yeB," ho answers. "I havo al
ready filled tho speculators full of hot
air and havo qulto n surplus for irso
In my balloon."
JaphetrTa Idea.
"I hardly know what to do with Iho
ark nftor wo lantl," mused Noah.
"Why don't you Jtlll thoso two mos
quitoes and Btart a Boramor botolT'
asked Japhotu.
Moro Evldenco,
"Thoro is nothing so sweet as
sound of her voice," declared
tho
jtha
young lover.
"Sho seems to thliik pq," put In .tho
Jealous lady.
A Misapprehension.
"I liko to uoo Mrs. Do Stylo enter a
room sho has such u lino carriage."
"Law, Bho don't tlrlvp It Into ijoo
plo'a houses, docs sho?"
Natural Suggestion.
"That's a friend of mlno I wantou
to meet, l'vo Just "boon shouting .to
Join us. Tie's a bluff sort."
"Is that Tby you aro callluf hjml"