The Nebraska Independent
10
DECEMBER 27, 1906
COOC
Agricultural
. Swine Notes
Hog prices dropping.
Cholera is siid to be raging in
Iowa. .";.
Milk is the slop par excellence for
the pig. , . . '
Pigs can easily be fed too much
corn unless ihey have plenty of range.
Breed the gilt so she will farrow at
the age of 12 to 18 months. Too early
breeding is harmful.
It is time now to breed for early
spring pigs. Early pigs pay best if
you are prepared to care for them.
..The score card hog is no longer the
aim and end of the swine breeder.
At the , leading fairs this year prefer
ence was given to the hog that had
bono and muscle as well as quality
The hog is often referred to as the
poor man's friend, and so he is. The
average farmer has made more mon
eny on hogs, than on all other kinds of
stock combined. Me for the hog every
time.
The best type of market hog is one
with a short, wide head and a roomy
barrel, one that fattens rapidly when
put on full feed. The pig with the
long snout is one for the breeder to
steer clear of.
The bacon hog is not popular in the
corn belt. He may have his Inning
some day, but at present it looks like
it will ' be long deferred. Personally
we like the bacon hog but we want the
other fellow to raise him.
. With cholera prevalent as it is said
to be in Iowa and other contiguous
states, it will be well for every swine
grower to exercise his best intelli
gence to prevent its getting a start
in his section. "An ounce of preven
tion," etc.- -
. Breeding stock of all kinds should
not be excessively fat. Keep the male
in a thrifty condition at all times and
try to have the female gaining in
flesh -at the time of service. This
plan has proven its value times with
out number.
No one can tell just what sort of a
mother a young sow will make until
she has had a litter of pigs. If she
brings a goodly number of pigs at the
start and docs well by them it is re
garded as a criterion that she will be
a good sow to keep.
A cross bred hog if of the first cross
is about the best feeder one can find.
It will not do to use cross bred hogs
as breeders, however, as crossing
tends toward variation in type. The
"scrub" is the essence of the cross
bred animal. Beware of it.
Shelter the swine from the piercing
winter winds If you would make profit
able gains. A tight board fence makes
a good windbreak in case none other
is available, though of course an ope a
shod Is preferable. Lumber Is cheaper
even yet than corn.
Keep the troughs and feeding floors
scrupulously clean. Filth is harmful
to swine, even if they can exist in it.
A hog is a cleanly animal In many re-
sDCcts if allowed to bo. Ho will not
willingly noil his bed a thing that
can bv said of but few domestic an
tmala.
For one reason or auother winter
Department
Is selected as the favorite season for
fattening hogs. We are of the opin
ion that summer is in many respects
better than winter for fattening swine.
It requires more care in summer than
winter but it Is easier to give it then.
To Prevent Pig-Eating
Farrowing sows will seldom eat
their pigs unless constipated. Ex
perience has taught that if constlpa
tionjs avoided the litter is generally
safe, unless devoured by other hogs
than the mother; and, as a rule, the
other hogs are the guilty ones. For
this season, see that the farrowing
sow has a comfortable nest by her
self. Live Stock Notes
The relative fattening qualities of
cattle, sheep and hogs are said to
be,. for 100 pounds of food: Cattle, 9
pounds; sheep, 11 pounds; pigs, 23
pounds. This shows a large per cent
in favor of hogs, and if prices per
pound are at all similar, the hogs, of
course, are most profitable.
Clean pens, clean feed and clean
water make clean hogs, and ' clean
hogs are "clean free' from cholera.
Preserving Seed Corn
The seed corn selected should be
placed in a dry, well ventilated room
where the ears can be spread out.
They should not be piled in a heap,
as it is important to expose them to
a free circulation of air, so that they
will dry quickly and thoroughly with
out molding.
It is a good practice. often follow
ed to leave a few husks attached to
each ear, so that the ears may be
tied together in pairs by means of
the husks and then hung over poles
or wires in the upper part of the room.
If convenient racks can be made
like bookcases, with slat shelves
about four or five inches apart and
open backs and fronts, in which the
ears can be arranged until thorough
ly dried.
This method allows the preserva
tion of a large amount of seed corn
in a small space.
Live Stock Notes
A flock of sheep is the best helper
In keeping up the conditions of the
land without any extra expense.
Do not breed the young ewe until
fourteen or sixteen months of age;
earlier breeding is not conducive to
vigor of constitution.
The man who goes to his stable, wa
ters his horses and gives them a light
feed the last thing every night before
he retires, always has round, sleek,
good-looking animals.
Clipping horses in the spring sea
son has been found to benefit their
health. It is just like taking off the
winter clothing from our own bodies
A Buffalo, N. Y., company owning 500
horses clipped 250 and left the others
to shed naturally. They reported 153
of tho 250 not clipped suffered from
coughs more or less seYcro. Tho
clipped horses were not troubled by
disease or sickness of any kind.
The Great American Fowl -
The turkey is regarded as the great
est American fowl, although turkeys
are not raised in such abundance as
are common hens. But, the turkey ap
pears to be distinctly an American
bird. It is associated with American
hlntory from the time white men first
set foot on the continent.
More than once the American set
tler in the depth of winter has been
saved from starvation. by the flocks
of wild turkeys roaming the woods.
The feasts of the pioneers were
largely made possible by the presence
of wild turkeys. The domestication
of the turkey has been the work of
these same American pioneers.
We believe that the business of
turkey raising is yet in its infancy.
There are now raised annually in this
country about seven million turkeys.
This compares poorly with the 240
million chickens, but it must be re
membered that one turkey weighs as
much as several chickens.
It is probabla that the seven mil
lion turkeys represent as much meat
as would thirty million chickens.
The chief obstacle to the increased
production of turkey is the belief
that turkeys must have "a large area
over which to roam if they are to live
and prosper.
It is altogether probable that the
turkey can be raised in confinement
almost -as easily as other kinds of
domestic fowls.
The question is one of knowing
how. Under existing conditions it is
altogether probable that the turkey
in confinement is not carefully enough
fed to produce the same results as
are produced when the turkey roams
the fields and woods and hunts his
own living.
There is room here both for study
and expansion, and the increase in
price from year to year is making the
raising of turkeys an important
branch of farming.
Soap on Mifk Vessels is Injurious
According to experiments conducted
in Australia, it has been found that
there is a decided objection to the use
of any common washing or laundry
soaps for cleaning milk vessels. As
an illustration, at a recent dairy con
vention in New South Wales, the
judge, in criticising a certain lot of
butter, noted on the score card,
"Tastes of soap."
Inquiry of the exhibitor later
brought out that in her anxiety to
have everything right, she had given
the vessels a thorough washing with
soap suds, and had carefully rinsed it
afterward; yet there was sufficient
soap adhering to the vessel In which
the milk had been handled so that the
iudgo could detect it in the butter.
It is recommended that only sal
soda, or some other alkaline washing
powder be usod, and the following is
a desirable method in the absence o
steam, or with steam In addition:
As soon as the vessels are emptied,
rlnso them out with lukewarm water,
If aval'able; if not, cold water. Wash
thoroughly In water as warm as can
be comfortably worked In. using suf
flcicnt alkaline washing powder to
cut tho grease. Then rlnso In boiling
water, or as near it as possible. It
would be a little better to use two
waters, one to rinse the alkaline wa
ter off and the second to simply scald
it.
In ordinary practical work, this 19
more trouble than most people will
take, so that one rinsing with suffi
cient water is reasonably satisfactory.
This vessel should then be turned up
to drain and dry. If left, hot, it should
dry without rusting.
While in dairy practice it is recom
mended that a brush be used while
washing, and then not wiping the In
ware with a towel, experiments per
formed in the Australian station with
tinware steamed, steamed and wiped
with a new towel that had never been
used, wiped with a so-called clean
used towel and with a soiled towel,
showed that after wiping with a new
cloth towel there were three and a
half times as many bacteria left on
the surface as in the case where it
was steamed only; after wiping with
a used towel, one which any house
wife would call a "celan towel" there
were 300 times as many as when
steamed only; and after using a soiled
towel, one which was not worse than
is commonly used in the kitchen for
our dinner plates, it showed 4,000
times as many as when steamed
only.
About Geese
From ten geese one farmer realized
$30 for eggs, $40 for feathers and
raised sixty young ones in one year.
lis methods . are given as follows.
Don't keep the eggs too long or too
warm, but set and turn them over
every other day until hatched. Take
them out of the nest as soon as hatch
ed from the shell and put in a basket
of warm rags. When dry and strong,
put them out in the yard and let them
learn to walk, and by night they will
run. Then give them a drink of wa
ter. I give them a drink of water or
milk out of a spoon before I put them
out. They get excited over it and
drink very heartily.
I put them in a box for a couple of
nights, putting dry straw in the hot
torn. Make the box so they can not
get out; otherwise they will creep
out and chill, but after the second
night they are all right in any coop or
house that is fit and safe for little
chickens. I feed corn meal wet with
water, and give all they want. I also
give plenty of water and sweet milk
and corn. At two weeks of age they
will go all right with grass, which
they will find. Just let them go and
they will care for themselves. I often
raise every one in a hatch. They are
the bests hippers imaginable, going
long distance in apparent comfort. In
five years I have never had a loss
by shipping. They always get there,
and, like tho new baby, they take
their welcome with them. You can
pick them every six weeks until se
vere weather comes. My geese are
none the worse for the feathers I
take off. They are easily handled.
Be kind and treat them as you would
like to bo treated and not the result.
Corn Facts
Trofesfior J. (1. Holden of Iowa thus
summarizes his corn lecture:
First: That vitality ot germination