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About Corvallis gazette. (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 1907)
FEED LOTS. Brick Paved Z'ards With Shelter Clf P tint action. Muddy feed lots are an unprofitable as well as disagreeable feature in cat tle feeding, especially when no pro Vision is made for shelter. In a sum- BRICK PAVED FEED LOT. mary of replies to a circular of inquiry regarding the methods followed by practical feeders compiled by H. W. Mumford and L. D. Hall of the Illinois experiment station the question of muddy feed lots was considered. Not withstanding the fact that the disad vantages of mud and dirt were recog nized, only thirty-six of the 500 and more cattle feeders who furnished in formation on this point reported defi nite provisions against such conditions. Of these ten have the surface of feed lots paved or otherwise artificially cov ered and fifteen use rock, gravel, cin ders, bricks, planks, corncobs or saw dust alone and in combination in vari ous parts of the lot for instance, about the feed troughs, water tanks, sheds or gates. Ten of the correspondents state that they have made the lots dry enough for feeding purposes by a tile drain, while two report that the yards have been graded and the mud and manure removed by means of dirt scrapers. Several of those who use coal cinders for filling the muddy portion of the lot state that care must be taken to keep them covered with straw, corn stnlks or other bedding material In or der to avoid injury to the feet. The first cut shows a brick paved feed lot, with convenient shelter, wa ter and feeding arrangements, d .sign ed to accommodate about fifty cattle, which has given satisfaction. The pavement is 24 by 80 feet and is made of brick laid flat on six inches of jgrav el packed until solid. The curbing consists of curbstones eighteen Inches wide and three inches thick set edge wise. Feed bunks were placed in the shed. The shelter consists of a building 20 by 20 feet, with two wings, both 20 by 80 feet. The upper floor of the middle position Is used for storing dry corn fodder, which can be convenient ly cut and fed through an open shaft to the feeding bunk below. The second cut is a feed bunk, with platforms for use in a muddy lot, which is inexpensive and has proved satis factory. Platforms of the sample de scribed were 16 by 6 feet and were FEED BAKES FOB MUDDY LOTS. There are three advantages in the floors. The feeder always has a dry place to walk when putting in feed; the cattle are out of the mud and not in a strained or cramped position while feeding; by having the floors six feet wide all wast ed feed and droppings fall upon the floor, and the hogs get all before it Is lost in the mud. made of two Inch bridge plank cut six feet loug. The feed bunks were made in the usual way, two feet six inches high, three feet wide and sixteen feet long. Winter Protection For Orchard. One of the most important points in preparing bearing apple trees for win ter, in my opinion, is to remove all rubbish that may afford shelter for mice or other vermin, says a writer in American Agriculturist. Be sure there are no declivities at the immediate base of the tree. A slight mounding is good. At all events leave no hollows that will hold water to freeze at times of sudden falls In temperature, thereby greatly damaging trees. If 1 mice or rabbits are feared, protect with wire netting. Cut with shears into proper Bites, roll around an old broomstick or any round object to give it a circular shape, the stick removed, and the wire will spring around the trunk and hold itself in place. See that all drains are in good order. Economic Position of Farmers. A matter of great importance In Its bearing upon the increased value of farm lands is the new economic inde pendence of farmers, fundamentally growing out of their improved finan cial condition. Farmers now occupy a strong economic . position, founded upon the tendency of the consumption of some Important" products to in crease faster than population does and upon the tendency of the desires for these' products to Increase faster than the production does, so that with re spect to these products consumption is close upon the heels of production. Frufif Trees. Deciduous trees may be pruned at any time after freezing weather sets In, when the sap will all have run out of the branches. Landscape garden ers, as a rule, leave the pruning of trees and shrubs until February. Care should be taken to cover all large wounds with gas tar or Unseed oil paint to prevent decay. Country Oen- FARM IRRIGATION. 7 Oavealeat Try- ( Ilea Gat Wmm Private Ditch. ' Jr Each farmer needs a head gate to control the flow from the main or branch canal Into his private ditch. This head gate - should meet the re quirements of both the canal company and the farmer. The Interests of the company demand that it shall be water tight when closed, large enough to ad mit the necessary flow and so made that it cannot be raised above a given height. The farmer is likewise inter ested in having a substantial head gate of ample size, but in addition he de sires it to be designed in such a way that he can, when he chooses, close it partly or altogether. The head gate Is placed at tlie edge of the canal, and either a wooden box or pipe con veys the water under the embankment of the canal. When a wooden pipe is used a convenient type of head gate, as described by S. Fortier, Is that shown In the cut. The box, as shown, is about twenty inches wide and sev enteen inches deep inside, and the gate which is made to fit this opening con sists of two thicknesses of one inch boards. The upper part of the gate IiATEBAIi HEAD GATE. stem is a round steel rod threaded and the lower part a piece of band steel welded to the rod. This flat portion is imbedded between the boards of the gate and fastened with bolts. The gate is operated by means of a cast iron hand wheel, held In place by two cross timbers, which in turn are sup ported by posts resting on the box. The special nut, attached to a chain and locked, prevents the gate from being raised beyond a fixed point, yet it does not prevent the gate from be ing partially or wholly closed. BEET PULP. Some Results of Feeding; It to Cows and Sheep. In regard to beet sugar making and the use of beet pulp for stock a writer in Orange Judd Farmer says, among other things, that the industry is grow ing, which means a continually in creasing acreage of sugar beets and a greater supply of beet pulp each year. The pulp has a feeding value and is returned to farmers who want It for feeding. In view of this fact and to give farmers not conversant with the value of pulp some idea of Its worth as a stock food I will re count my experience. When fed to milk cows it was found that the dry matter of beet pulp and corn silage were of equal value, but ow ing to the high percentage of water In beet pulp twice as much of it is re quired to furnish a given amount of dry matter as of corn silage. Pnlp Saves Other Feeds. When twenty to eighty pounds xf pulp were fed per day there was a saving of four to fourteen pounds of hay. The pulp bad a most beneficial effect on the milk yield. Most of the cows were decreasing in milk flow at the time pulp feeding began, after which there was an increase. Ltmbi Made Good Gains. Lambs made as good gains on pulp as on corn at the Colorado station. One ton of pulp was considered equal to 200 pounds of corn; two pounds of sugar beets were found to be equal to about one pound of palp. According to this experiment, it paid to sell beets and buy pulp. In a trial with four lots of lambs a ration of pulp and lucern made a gain at less cost and gave larger profits than rations of lucern, pulp and grain, lucern and sugar beets or lucern, sugar beets and grain. Pnlp fed sheep were weak boned, not very fat, but produced mutton of good fla vor. Lambs fed pnlp In large quanti ties had soft flesh and shrank heavily when slaughtered. It is recommended that pulp be fed to greatest extent at commencement of the feeding period. Winter Wheat States. A notable Increase In the production of the crop has taken place in Nebras ka. Fifteen years ago the proportion of winter wheat to the total wheat pro duction of the state amounted to about 15 per cent while at present the spring wheat produced bears about the same relation to the total annual yield. Ne braska' now ranks second among the .winter wheat producing states, Kansas standing first Grown on Dairy Byproducts. Some French farmers grow their pigs slowly for several months and then fatten them quickly. This pre vails among the small farmers, many of whom use no grain except during the last two months, the pigs being grown on dairy byproducts and kitchen stops. I wish to consider that one trial of all dairymen, the clinging of the ma nure to the thighs and hocks of the cows, writes W. J. Elliott in American Agriculturist .1 have heard. It said that this is easily overcome If the dairyman makes it his chore to brush down the thighs of the cows every day. It is a fact that it is not a big chore if we look to the bedding and the brushing each day. At present I am practicing in my dairy a system of keeping clean the caws', thighs. It consists of the clipping very short of the hair on the thighs, hocks and tail of the cows. The accompanying illus tration shaws what I mean. You will find the portion of the cow's thigh that is clipped is below the dotted line. With an ordinary pair of horse clip pers cut very short the hair from be low the hock to a line drawn from the stifle to the tail head. The horse clippers may also be used for clipping the ud der, but the clipping of the tail is diffi cult unless we have some one to hold It Now, when the cow gets up, any litter that clip below like. may cling to her thighs will dry very quickly be cause it Is so close to the hide. When dry it is very easily brushed off and the thigh is as clean as ever. If the thighs are not clipped and the long wjnter coat of hair becomes wet with manure we all know what a long time it takes it to dry even if brushed off as clean as possible. This system has worked so success fully and it takes such a short time to clip the animals that I clip not only my cows, but my steers. It is really wonderful ' how clean they can be kept with very little care when they are clipped in this manner. Besides this, with my steers, we clip a ridge two widths of the horse clipper right along the backbone from the tail head to the back of the head. This is just the place, especially on the steers, where the hair, in a measure, is stand ing on end and furnishes a splendid position for dust and dirt to drop di rectly into the hide. When the hair is cut short the slightest brushing will prevent the collection of dust and dirt in this manner, and thus the steers have not that restless, itchy feeling along the shoulders and back. This system of clipping the cows and steers is practiced regularly twice each winter. Two of my men clip ten cows In an afternoon before milking time, and I certainly figure that these few hours are saved ten times over dur ing the winter by the ease with, which the cows are kept clean. Concentrated Dairy Foods. In experiments to determine the best forms of roughage for dairy cows along with concentrated foods the Pennsyl vania station found that where grass is not available silage was best. Some dry fodder or hay should be fed along with the silage. The experiments show that corn stover can be used to replace timothy hay with excellent re sults and a considerable saving of cost. If grown In a rotation, timothy hay should be sold and corn used for the dairy animals. Pure cottonseed meal contains a larger per cent of di gestive protein than gluten meal and Is much richer in fertilizing qualities. It will in most cases prove the best feed to produce milk and butter. As cottonseed meal is often adulterated, farmers should require a guarantee of 42 to 46 per cent of protein. Wheat bran Is one of the finest of dairy feeds, but it contains only about one-third as much protein as cottonseed meal and often costs about the same per ton; therefore, the ' dairyman is paying three times as much for each pound of protein. If the dairyman is obliged to buy feed, the most concentrated, will usually prove the most economical. Fanners Advocate. Weed ins; Out. Whether the cows are grade or pure bred, vigorous selection must still be practiced.. In "order-: to select Intelli gently it is necessary that accurate rec ords be kept of the cow's performance. We need not know what the herd aver ages, but we must be able to pick out the poor cows that are bringing the average of the herd down. A man says he knows his best cow without bother ing with the milk scales and the Bab cock test but experience on trying both ways shows that he does not always know. Frequently the cow that he thinks the best turns out the poorest says Otto Irwin in Farm Star. Overhauling; the Herd.' I This year would be a good one to - convert those unprofitable milk cows yon have been "boarding" so long into beef. Be sure you do not discard your good cows when you begin overhaul ing and thinning out your herd, for j often the most unpromising cow In the lot from external Indications is the best The sure way to know what is what is to weigh and test the milk from each and all your cows. After you have made a thorough test of their dairy capacity you can rid yourself of the boarders to better advantage. This win be a good time to begin lm- i provement says tie Farmers Advo- JentaL CARE OF DAIRY UTENSIL&lj r..-; . ' '. i ana Valuable Points on Keenta Then Clean and Sanitary. - . The II rat requisite Is to purchase dairy utensils that can be easily clean ed, which have smooth, hard and non- oorous surfaces and corners so made mat they are- easily accessible . to a brush or cloth. Unnecessary corners and angles should be avoided. : , . The principal things necessary for keeping utensils clean tire hot water jr steam, some alkali and a scrubbing orush or coarse cloth, combined with plenty, of elbow grease to make these agents effective. All utensils should be cleaned immediately after using. The method for cleaning varies slightly, ac cording to what the utensils have con tained. If they have been used for milk, they should first be rinsed with cold or lukewarm water, so as to wash off the viscous albuminoids, which if subjected to boiling water would coag ulate and adhere firmly to the tin, thus becoming difficult to remove. They should then be thoroughly wash ed in hot water with some cleansing material, such as washing powder or caustic soda, in order to remove the grease. The water should be quite hot, and the washing powders should not be used sparingly, for we too of ten find vessels where the grease has not been removed, but simply smeared ever the tin. Caustics and washing powders are not only effective In clean ing the grease from utensils, but they also act as a means of destroying bac teria. Common soaps, and especially if perfumed, should be avoided. Destroying Bacteria. It has been found that a 5 or 7 per cent solution of good fresh washing powder applied in hot water will make a good material for destroying germ life, provided the utensils are subject ed to this solution for at least ten min utes, after which they should be rinsed in hot water and set away in the pure air to dry. The latter method requires more time to accomplish the same pur pose than with steam, but is better adapted to farm use. There are other methods for conven iently destroying bacteria on dairy utensils. They are, however, more ex pensive, but very effective. A practical way is to rinse the utensils, after they have been thoroughly washed in some alkali, with a hot solution containing 6 to 12 per cent borax. This solution also preserves the tin to a slight ex tent, but care must be taken not to get it into the milk. Sunlight and pure air are the cheap est and most effective means of keep ing the utensils pure and sanitary after they have been cleansed. When these conditions do not exist it Is then ad visable to put them in a hot drying room. Old, unclean dishcloths should never be used for wiping dairy utensils after they have been steamed or subjected to the h3t washing solution, as the germs which are lodged in the cloth will again be distributed over the sur face of the vessels, thus reinfecting them. If utensils must be wiped dry, it is always best to use a coarse linen cloth which has previously been steam ed of boiled. Scrub brushes are the best articles for use in cleaning dairy utensils. Coarse linen cloths may also be used, but they require more care in keeping them clean. The same methods for cleaning utensils should be followed for cleaning cloths. Extract From a Bulletin of the Kansas State Agricul tural College. THE BUTTERMAKER It is just as easy to make good butter as it is to make poor butter, and you can get a much better price. The main secret is to keep the milk dishes clean. Use Good Butter Salt. This Is an exceedingly Important matter. A good way to test it is to dis solve some in hot water. If the salt has a bad flavor It will be easily de tected. Sometimes a sediment will be seen in the bottom of the vessel. A bad odor In butter many times is caused by the use of poor salt Cool the Cream Quickly. Temperature has a great deal to do with the making of fine butter, not only at churning time, but from the time the milk is drawn from the cow until the butter is placed on the table. Unless the cream is cooled quickly aft er milking and kept right from that time en it is impossible to make really good butter. ' ' '' Make the Best. If yon are making butter to sell, hunt up good customers who are willing to : pay a little extra, then give them ex ! actly what they want says the Farm ' era Advocate. Give them the very best there is in butter and put in the quan tity of salt that pleases them. You can get 5 cents above the market price in this way, and this 5 cents Is clear profit. It costs no more to make good butter than poor butter; in fact, it costs less, because you are more likely to watch all the little leaks, and the re- ' suit is you get more pounds of butter. Fishy Flavor In Butter. This serious defect is declared by A. J. Walker' in the Chicago Produce to be due to the use of washing powder In tanks and churns where care insuf ficient has been taken to rinse out the powder with fresh water. Mr. Walker states if a strong solution of washing powder is put in a tumbler the fishy flavor can easily be detected. This fla vor has been very puzzling to all inves tigators, and it will be interesting to know If the washing powder Is the cause of it, as suggested. THE SHEPHERD . v AND HIS FLOCK We used an Imported Bryan rain on our flock of Oxfords last September, when we generally commence breed ing the ewes, writes an Ohio breeder in the American Agriculturist First we turn the ram out with the ewes in daytime and bring him in at night and give him a little grain and rape, as this helps to keep him . vigorous. Through the winter we give the ewes a little grain, such as bran, oats and oil cake, and all the clover and alfalfa hay they will clean up. At lambing time I make small pens up one side cf the shed to put ewes in as soon as the; lamb for a couple of days till the lambs are strong; then the ewes that have young lambs are turned together and fed a little extra grain and roots. When the lambs are about a week old I make a pen so the lambs can creep in and get grain at this age. I feed only grain and oil cake till they are about six weeks old, then add oats. About two weeks after the lambs are born I cut off their tails. In the spring, when the sheep go out to pas ture, the ewes have grain till the grass gets some substance In it A pen is also fixed so the lambs can get their grain. They are weaned the last week in July. The rams are separated from the ewes and turned on good second crop clover in daytime and hurdled on rape at night. I select my show sheep about Nov. 1, keep them growing and feed plenty of grain and clover hay. We feed no other grain than oats, bran and oil cake. In that way we don't ruin our sheep for breeding purposes. My show sheep are sheared about March 1. When there is green clover fit to mow in the spring I feed them inside. About June rape is ready to feed. The rams are exercised every day. The show ewes exercise them selves in a small paddock. I never aim to have the show flock at their best when I start to the fairs, for I usually show about three weeks at dis trict fairs before the state shows. By that time they are generally In good shape for the larger shows. Angora Goat Breeding. The American Angora Goat Breed ers' association was organized in 1900. It maintains the only American record of thoroughbred Angora goats and is the national organization representing and championing this breed of live stock in the United States, says the ANGORA YEARLING BUCK. American Sheep Breeder. Its 500 members represent nearly every state and territory. It has 58,000 recorded Angora goat3 on its pedigree register. The Angora yearling buck Our Boy, shown in the illustration, is owned by Edward L. Nay lor, Forest Grove, Ore.; photo taken at ten and a half months old; length of mohair, eleven and three quarter inches. Foster Mother For Lamb. I keep my sheep during the winter months in a shed, through which I pass several times a day. This makes them more tame and easier to handle at lambing time. I am not an extensive feeder of grain, but prefer whole grain to ground. Last season I experiment ed with a twin ewe lamb, feeding it directly from the cow. The little fel low nursed the cow very shortly after its birth until it was large enough to turn to pasture with the flock. It grew rapidly and proved to be a healthy, fine sheep, being fully as large, as. its mate. I believe it is money tn the shepherd's pocket to encourage, ewes to have twin lambs. Twins will bring more In market, and, all things consid ered, our farmers will do well to se lect such sheep as have a tendency In this direction. My sheep have proved much more profitable than my cows. Myron W. Graham, Hartford County, Conn. Wintering; YoonK Wethers. The Wisconsin experiment station conducted three trials to determine the Influence of exercise and confinement on fattening wethers." In only one in stance were there any bad results ap parently arising from close confine ment. The results of the three trials lead to the conclusion that for feeding growing wethers close confinement in pens which are dry, with fresh air and light Is equal to if not somewhat bet ter than allowing plenty of exercise. It is believed that there is much space In the farm buildings which could be utilized for feeding a greater or less number of wethers. No better class of stock can be recommended for convert ing farm grains and roughage Into cash and fertilizers than sheep. The farm er who has feed and unoccupied space In barn, driveways, emptied mows t stair lefts can nOllee the same te a feed advantage by feeding sheen, COKING! : The Famous Play- "Uncle Tom'8 Cabin." - The Dlav that has tin ermal trio - - , one that is alwavs trrootort o packed house, Stetson's Uncle Tom s Cabin Company will be seen at the opera house on Thurs day, Jan. 31. This is one of the hio-roef t,a best "Uncle Tom" shows on tl a road, and it has the reputation of presenting a thoroughly first class performance. The i company appeared here a few years ago, and gave good satis faction. 10 Funeral of Mrs. Radlr. Mrs. Margaret "Radir died at the family heme on Eighth street at 6:30 o'clock Wednesday morn ing, after an illness of or ly six days with a complication of dis. eases. The funeral occurs to day at 2 o'clock from the Episco pal church, Rev. Hannon ol Ore gon City conducting the services, and inteimentiwill be in Crystal Lake cemetery. Deceased was born in Keirick Fargis, Ireland, and had she lived until March 17th she would have been 79 years old. She came to the United States in I829, living for a time in - Pennsylvania, and to Oregon in 1875. Fifty-three years ago the 6tb-of next April she was married in Alleghany, Pa., to Adam Radir, wbo is the surviving husband. Mr. and Mrs. Radir resided on the well-known Radir farm tbres miles east of Corvallis from 1875 until a year ago when they moved to this city. Mrs. Radir had been ailing for two years so her death was not unexpected. The immeuiate family surviv ing consists of the husband, and three daughters, Mrs. Richaid Graham and Mrs. Millie Smith of Corvallis, and Mrs. Sarah Whitmore of Scranton, Pa. For the Alsea Road. It begins to look as though te Alsea mountain road might yet become passable in mid-winter, If Jthe energy and determination of the residents of that section prevails. The road has long been an eye-sore to the whole of Ben ton county, but despite every ef fort it remains almost impassable throughout the winter months and a terror to all who have to travel that way. So eager are the residents o that section to have a decent highway that the people of the "South" district recently voted a five mill tax for the purpose, and those of the "north" district vot ed a ten mill tax for the end. same In addition to this, it is plan ned to secure $25 individual con tributions for road work, one cit izen having offered that sum if ten other citizens would give a like amount each. No sooner had he made the offer than Wade Malone, the enterprising Alsea merchant, declared his willing ness to donate $50, and it is thought a goodly sum will soon be available for the proposed road improvement. " Might Have Changed History. Napoleon III. of France, when a prisoner in the fortress at Ham, wrote and published a paper on the possibility of linking the Pacific and Atlantic oceans by means of a canal. This created so profound an im pression that the minister plenipo tentiary of Guatemala offered him the; presidency of the construction of the Nicaragua canal. The pro posal was followed by the offer of the , presidency of the Ecuador re? public. The latter offer was condi tional upon King Louis Philippe's releasing the captive and upon the hitter's giving his parole never to return to Europe. Louis Napoleon was prepared to give his parole, and Sir Robert Peel, then prime minis ter of Great Britain, was willing to back up his application for release upon these terms. Lord Aberdeen, however, would not hear of it, so the prisoner remained to be president and emperor of his native land. Foley's Kidney Cure