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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (May 22, 1914)
rr THE 8EMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE. NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA, I 1 x NOTES zS5rom Koop down tho weeds. . FEEDING AND CARE OF THE SPRING PIGS MBUXJWBROQK &yY FARM Hetfors soon make cows. RULTO OS Renovate the alfalfa field. Proper feeding Is Important. - .. t Dock tho lambs when about a month old. Trim tho hoofs of the sheep when you shear. HENRir HOWIAND ..m. ; 4 '. W,?fc5 itA'V f '- i Plant somo trees. Keep up tile fences. Watch brood sows closely. Have salt handy, for tho cows. ' Tho hog louse multiplies very rap idly. Salt is cheap. Glvo tho cows all thpy care for. It la easier to select the seed than to grade the grain. Lovo for animals finds gratification in their daily 'caro. Do not keep a cow that tests below three per cent in butter fat. Don't' feed tho bow for a day after she farrows. But give her drink. The ewo flock requiroa especial at tention during the lambing season. A woodlot provides fairly Ideal con ditions for the rearing of small chicks. To make a profit in dairying, get good cows and glvo them the best of care. There Is more money In a good milker than any other man on tho farm, Plowing when the soil is not in proper condition is a waste of time and horseflesh, The same properties that make milk a gopd food for calves make It good "r growing chicks. Keep tho hog pens clean and dry even if you have to floor them with cinders add cement w The salt in butter will remain In grains, not being dissolved, If the but ter is worked very dry. It Is a mistake to try to force a cow to make milk out of food that does not carry milk making qualities. There is no way to distinguish fer tile eggs from those that are not be ' fore placing them In the incubator. Cow testing aids better and more intelligent feeding. The most careful man is tho one who gets tho best re turns. Don't have much bedding In the nest at farrowing time. Many a pig gets lost in tho bedding and is lain on by tho bow. Coarse bone is not necessarily strong, nor fine bono wea"k. It de pends on what tho hog a'te when that bone waB growing. In the generality of cases heifers Tvlth their first calf do not show as high a test- of butfter fat as they do at a more mature age. The gasoline engine is the Ideal power to run tho separator bocauso it can be depended upon to maintain a uniform rate of speed. i A broody hen, if loft to her own de vices, w)ll frequently select her nest, lay her eggs In It and bring oft a good hatch of healthy chickens. Corn, tho last of the great cereals to be discovered, Is now grown over n greater area of the earth's surface than any other grain except wheat Where tho eggs are intended for hatching there should be no forcing of egg production, but tho honB should bo given ample runs and fed for vigor and fertility. It. Is wise to remember that what ever makes the hen more comfortable and more contented helps to produce the good hatch which all poultry keep ers deslro. A Btudyof the kind of butter liked best in one's market le quite essential to high prices as much so as a knowl edge of the principles underlying good butter making. Some feeders say that sheep thrive tbetter by being fed on tho ground, but nve do not believe it. It le certainly n wasteful method. It is better busi ness to feed in tho racks in tho stalls. a Dy keeping up the practise of lato hatching and tho use of Buch fowls as breeders from year to year you will decrease tho size of tho fowls, lower fortuity and in tho long run Injuro egg production. Tho late-hatched chick may be all right for the showroom, but It Is, as a rule, a poor proposition for the egg basket. Heavy feeding does not always pro duce proportionate gains. Quality is more Important than slzo in selecting tho breeding stock. Great lung capacity In a cow Is es sential to high milk production. Hatching eggs should not be washed except when absolutely necessary. Palmetto Is undoubtedly tho lead ing American variety of asparagus. Have Uie nest boxes of tho right size for thCj breed of fowls you have. . Large horses do not stand the heat of midsummer as well as small ones The way to tell your cow's fortune Is to find out what she Is producing. Get the chlckB outdoors as soon as posslblo when the ground Is entirely dry. Provide the hens with lots of nests, both Inside and outside the poultry house. The food for young ducks should not differ radically from that of the young chick. Don't abuse the pigs bdeauso they get through the hoK in the fenco you forgot. to repair. In nearly all states there Is an in crease In tho number of farms of less than twenty acres. The condition A the roosting quar ters bus some ifluence, Indirectly, upon egg production. Have you raked up the hog lots and burned everything you can burn? This is most important. We are at tho beginning of a period of enlightenment concerning the pos sibilities of hog farming. Touch up the thin places in the meadow by applying a thin top-dressing of well-rotted manure. - The quality of nourishment rather than the bulk should guide ub in the purchase of feeding materials. Nests with china eggs, placed in out-of-the-way .corners, will tempt the tur keys to make their nests there. It Is beBt to feed tho now .calf three times a day for a while rather than give the same amount in two seeds, The testing association promotes a greater appreciation of tho cow and coneequently better results are suro to follow. Thumps will not occur If the pigs get lots of exercise. Make them chase the sow over tho pasture and they will not be so fat Some bacteria are sure to find their way into tho milk, and for that reason the milk must be kept cool in order to retard their growth. Never locate the road so close to the stream bed that ItwIH'be subject to an overflow or on ground which s constantly damp and marshy. ' The fact that almost any old plug can make money at farm work ob scures from vision the possibilities of his making money when sold. Every particle of food that the hen cah find for herself by ranging over the promises amounts to a direct or an Indirect saving to her owner. It s much easier to run a flock of poultry down than to build It up, and nothing will run down a flock of chick ens quicker than Improper feeding. As a rule, there is more profit in marketing fowls reasonably early than at any other time; prices aro not only better, but there Is a saving of feed. Tho hen that lo able to mix bugs, grasshoppers, worms, slugs and bee tles in with her regular grain ration will need no tonic preparations In her dally feed. Provide ample roosting places for the growing young chicks. Deware of crowding. Nothing Is so conducive to colds as the overheating that comes of crowded quarters. It Is claimed that stack burned al falfa Is not only eaten more greedily than when -well cured, hut that It con tains more digestible nutrients than tho dry cured hay. The Kansas Ex periment station is authority for the latter statement Old ducks aro reared much the same as chickens. They need no roosts or scratching sheds, a low coop llko a hog houso being suitable. They live on whole oats, corn and alfalfa hay very comfortably. They forage on pasture In summer, A Healthy and Profitable Spring Litter. A sow with several little pigs can bo conveniently aud profitably main tained by tho average suburban house holder. Tho sow and her brood can not only bo kept by the surplus waste from the kitchen, but tho pigs In No vember or December will prove a good source of supply for fresh meat; then, too, some of tho plga may bo sold at a prolit. Tho feeding and care of the pigs is as important as tho breeding in pro ducing a good hog. Plenty of feed and good caro may make a good hog out of a runt, but the lack of It will always mako a runt out of a'good pig. Young pigs must have a dry bed and plenty of sunshine. Begin feeding them as soon as they will cat and keep them well fed until they are ma ture. Always keep plenty of clean, fresh water where the pigs may drink at any time. Tho more milk a sow will glvo the faster her pigs will grow. Hog lots should bo built where the sun will shine In some portion of them t all hours of tho days. Sunshine is one of the greatest factors for de stroying germs and keeping down dis eases. A supply of clean, fresh wa ter at all times is essential. The trough should always be kept clean and not so much feed given at one time that it would be left In the trough to becomo sour and filthy. Tho AVOIDING GRUB IN , THE SHEEP FLOCK Veterinarian Can Relieve Ani mals, but Prevention of In fection Is Much Better. The condition known as grub in tho head Is caused by tho presence in the cavities of the head between tho eyes of tho larva (worm stage) of tho sheep bot-fly. The trouble is con fined to sheep and occasionally goats. Tho eggs are laid in tho nostrils 'of tho sheep during tho summer by a yellowiBh gray fly somewhat larger than tho houso-fly. Tho eggs hatch and work their way up into the cavities of tho head between tho eyes, but not Into the brain. Tboy attach themselves thero and remain about ten months, when they loosen their hold and ore sneezed out and burrow into tho ground. Thero they pass through another stage, emerging in a month or six weeks an adult fly, and tho life cycle is begun again. A few grubs may not causo enough trouble to be noticed, However, if there are many, a thick, dirty white or yellowish discharge is caused with coughing and sneezing, tossing of the head and weakened gait Some times death results. A veterinary can relievo the sheep by trephining, but prevention of In foctlon 1b a better practise. In fly time the noses of tho sheep should be tarred often. Some force their sheep to take their salt through an auger hole, and keep It smeared with far during fly time. A dark shed where the sheep may escape tho files is a great help. IMPROVEMENT OF LOOSE SAND'Y SOIL Lime Makes Them More Com pact and- Retentive of Moisture. Lime may improvo loose Bandy soils by making them moro compact and more rotontivo of molBturo. For this purposo some form of carbonate of lime is usually recommended, and in much smallor quantities than for clay soils. Clay soils will stand moro lime than sandy soils. Tho Improvement of sandy soils will often bo much greater If the lime is applied to a gTeen crop turned under. Lima hastens tho conversion of tho vegetable matter Into humus, and this with tho lime helps to fill tho open spaces between tho sand grains. It Is claimed by those who have given much attention to light sandy soils that there, aro no other types of soils that will respond quite so readily to liming, provided the necessary vege table matter Is supplied in the form of a creen cover crop turned under. troughs should bo frequently washed and placed whoro the sun will shlno In them. This la especially truo of thoso used for feeding small pigs. Clean, dry straw should bo placed In ovory houso for bedding, bb it is essential that tho sow hayo a warm, dry bed when she farrows. Many young pigs are lost each year from cold and ex posure at farrowing tlmo. Tho young pigs must bo kept warm, dry and should have plenty of sunshine until they aro, several weeks old. A good sholtor for Uttlo pigs during tho summer months may be made by sotting four poles Into tho ground and securely nailing two by bIx Inch ma terial around these about throo feet from tho ground, and upon thoso a few light poles may bo put crosswlBO and straw or coarsb hay plied on top. If tho pigs show Indications of scouring keep a mixture of charcoal (one bushel), hardwood ashes (ouo buBhel), salt (eight pounds), rlr slaked llmo (eight pounds), sulphur (four pounds) and pulverized copperas (two pounds) where tho hogs can oat It at will. This Is not only a good remedy for scours, but Is one of tho Dest preventives for worms. it Is also well to remember that pork is moro in demand than either beef or mutton, and tho danger of overstocking tho market la remote. PREDIGESTED CORN TAKEN FROM SILO Moisture Essential to Continu ance of Fermentations That Make Fodder Palatable. Why Is It that when tho corn plant Is cut up into small bits and packed In a silo, perhaps with tho addition of water, it comes out aftor a while trans formed Into a feed stuff essentially different from corn of tho samo kind loft outdoors, oven though the latter may also receive an abundant wotting from the rain, questions Northwestern Agriculturist. Why Is sllago succu lent, mildly Bour, and tender, while tho plant outsldo becomes tough, dry and tasteless? The answer 1b tliat, as soon as tho corn plant Is severed from the ground, and Its life processes stopped, a num ber of chemical changes begin, such as tho change of sugar Into lactic acid the same that Is produced In tho sour ing of milk.- Air and light being ex cluded by tho tight walls and covering of the silo, and by the "packing" of tho silage under trampling and Its own weight the moisture osseutlal to the contlnuanco of thesa chemical changes or "'fermentations" Is retained, heat Is generated, and tho fodder under go oa a ripening process which, mnkes It palatable and cany of digestion. In fact, tho shredded corn plant Is, In a measure, llko tho "breakfast foods," which we enjoy so much, "predlgcst ed." The outside plant, on the con trary, exposed to sun and ulr, quick ly loses Its moisture, so that the chem ical changes cease, and it "dries up" at lost, almost to a point of worthless ness. PROTECTION FOR SORE SHOULDERS Collar From One Horse Used In discriminately on "Others Causes Much Tro'uble. N The shoulder Is a tender spot If a collar does not fit well, It causos the horse about as much discomfort as u poorly fitting shoo. You know how comfortable It Is to wear n shoo that fits some CSno elso. Taking the collar from one animal and using tho same Indiscriminately on others causes about tho samo trouble. When start ing tho horses at hard work, bath Ing tho shoulderB every night with wntor 1b an oxcellent practise. Always see that tho collars aro cleaned up before yqu put them away. After tho team has been working a few hours in tho morning it Is always well to lift the collars and clean them off. Many toamstors take off tho names during the noon hour In order that the strain may be taken off the horses' necks. HEN SHOULD BE KEPT BUSY Shock or Fright Will Cause Fowl to Hold Up Her Eggs Overfeeding as Bad as Underfeeding. Hens hold up their eggs Just as .cows hold up their milk. A shock or fright of any kind, such as being chnsod by a dog, tho prcsenco of strango dogs, etc., will causo a hen. to hold up her eggs, and frequently causo dead eggs. Changing tho house will also causo a hen to hold up her eggs for a few days. Hens and pul lets should not bo housed togothor, a pullet has not finished her growth when sho begins laying thoroforo shu will lay har bost on a ration which would throw an old hun off her foot, hecauso she la making feathers, bono, flesh and eggs. This is on tho same prtnclplo that a growing boy of six teen will outcat lita father. The hen should bo kept busy, Bhe should have plenty to ent of a variety of food; a one grain ration will mean A General F'urposo Hen. sudden death. She should bavo plenty to drink, and her owner should know when she shirks her duty of laying oggs. Overfeeding Is almost as bad as undcrfecdlng, and is sometimes responsible for eggs without a shell. A well balanced ration provides shell material. If the fowls aro too fat do not glvo mashes, substitute hard grains for which they should scratch and add a little opsom salts in tho drinking water. FEED FOR THE BABY CHICKS Best Plan Is to Confine Mother In Coop Until the Youngsters Are Strong and Sturdy. (Dy W. E. VAPLON, Colorado Acrlcul tural College.) . If you will notico tho Query col umns of tho poultry pross, you will find that to feeds and feeding of baby chicks is attributed most of tho blame for tho ills they have,especlally bowel troubles; my experience has been that the feed has -less to do with tho mor tality of chicks than any ono of th Boveral other factorB. Farmers gen erally feci that turkeys aro hard to ralso, but babying nnd lice probably got most of thoBo that die. I know two women who aro very successful with poults, one feeding only cracked wheat, and the othor cracked corn; In both cases tho mother hens aro con fined and the poults have alfalfa range. It Is a good plan to keep tho hena in coops until tho chicks and poults are beyond the danger point and aro Btrong und sturdy. Wheat and corn, cracked, whoro chickens nro on froo range is all the groin needed. Milk in any form 1b not only a good food but a tonic and brats any you can buy in packages. The old fashioned Johnnycako made up of ground grains and wot with milk cannot bo Improved upon. t When dad is using tho plow or cul tivator, make him turn over a fow furrowB where tho chicks aro kept Feed scattered in this Ioobo dirt wilt glvo them something to do and also provide a bath. It's easier to feed twice a day than overy couplo of hours, and Just as well if plenty of line grain is scattered broadcast whero tho chicks can find ft. Incentive for Scratching. As an Incentive for scratching a combination of grains may bo scat tered and tha fowls required to work for it. A good combination Is as fol lows: Wheat C pounds, cracked corn C pounds, oats 4 pounds,, kaflr or mllo 1 pound, barley 2 pounds, buckwheat 1 pouud, coarse beef scrap 1 pound. Rear Ducks Artificially. All duck rulaers who produce any considerable number of ducks each season hatch and rear them artificially. Some of tho large duck farms hatch, rear and market as many au a hundred thousand ducklings in ono season. Hatching Geese Eggs. While gecflo eggs can bo successful ly hatched in incubators, it is usually best to set them under a hen or a gooso because ono seldom hns enough nt ono time to mako tho use of un in cubator necessary or advisable. UPWARD VjE Far up on the Itlver of Life thera stand A stately city nnt fair; ' Anil below It ar shallows a n ij rapids ntiix curves And whirlpools that strain nn tho steadiest nerves.. And ninny goi blunderlngMhere.. While a fow stnnrh, vessels pnn up ward and on. Stemming w I t splendid force Tho current tltnh, now In terribly strong. But tomorrow may, glldo llko the lilt Of A BO UK, Scrcno In Its beau tlful course. Ah, mark how tho powerful packet pro-j coeds, ' With a mah and the roaring or steam. Spreading waves that aro high and thatl IiIbb In their might Whero many a boatman Is wcpt out ofi Bight And left In flnnt down with tho stream fi Ami the tlmWa of many a pitiful wreck Aro btrown on the rocks and tno snore,. And many u boatman Is calling for aid, l And n fow aro undaunted nnd many nfrald. ' And many lean limp on their oars. The banks or tho river nro barren some-i times, Or gracefulty (doping nnd green, And tho winds that blow over them oftenj nro wild. And now and then fragrantly scented am mild, With orchards a-bloom on tho sccno; And over tho river to winding about, And tho bars aro forever unknown. For tho channel keeps changing by night and by day, And tho streams that flow In tempt the; innny awny, Whllu ft few Journey upward alone. The city men cnll by tho name of Succesj Is a bnautltiil city to seo. With domes thnt aro lofty and glided ano bright , And walls thnt aro graceful and splendid, and white. And proud vensols moored at tho quay: But never from unoxplorod regions above,1 Whcnco tho waters eternally flow, Has ever a craft floated down ori the; stream, To bo moored whero tho columns nfl cupolas gleam , Wor those who toll up from below. Terrible Predicament. "My husband has threatened to sua mo for dlvorco," sobbed tho beautiful actress. "Chocr up," said her manager, ''Nearly ovory actress has boon sued for divorce." "I know, but think what the publlo will say. I have always tried to bo all that a wtfo should be. Now no body will bcllovo It." "If you're Innocent, why don't you flght the caso?" "That's tho trouble. I'm nfrald If fought tho caso they wouldn't give him the divorce." ' PICKED THEM UP. "And what1 asked tho Sunday school teacher, "is your name?" "Arthur Henry, Drown Williams Oreen Joyco Urown Corwln." "Gracious! How; '(Hd your parents over happen to glv you all thoso naraos?" "They didn't glvo me nil of thorn- My step-paronts helped." Willing to Extend Sympathy. ) "Yes," ho said, aftor explaining to his wlfo that tho lodgo meeting had been a very important and a some whnt protracted ono, thus making it Impossible for him to got homo a min ute earlier thnn ho did, "and therq wcro two fellows thero who made thu worst fools of themselves you could imagine. You couldn't And two worso chumps In a row of counties clear across this Btato." "I suppose not," sho replied. "Who was tho other ono? I'd llko to sympa thize with his wife." The Cruel World, nefore him flowery pastures spread, lie heard a glad brook flow along, And from n brunch above his head There falls a sweet Juno shower of song. Thero Is mild fragrance In the breeze That blows from orchards far away, Tho musing cows beneath the trees Are being peaceful whllp they may. Ills limbs are straight and young and strong, He gazes forth from undlmmed eyes, Hut, thinking thnt the world's gona wrong, Ilo sees a far-off cloud and sighs. Strange Neglect, "There's ono thing, though," snlrt tho stranger, "that I can't under stand." "What's that?" asked tho old sot. tier. Nobody around horo has assured mo that this Is tho garden Bpqt of tha state. Couldn't Lose the Chance. "My husband alwayB remembers my blrthdny nnd our wedding unnlver or.ry." - "I should think you would positive ly hate him," replied tho other woman.