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About Corvallis gazette. (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 1906)
BREEDING AND USING THE MULE The male is worth more than any animal living as a class used for do mestic purposes and will bring more "to the square inch and is considered the safest property to own in the live stock line, writes J. L. Jones to the Breeder's Gazette, Chicago. The fact Is established that the mule as a class la a more' valuable animal than the horse as a class, and as the progressive farmer sees this (and all Americans are progressive) he will adopt the mule as the farm animal and motive power for the drudgery work. Now if the mule can be bred cheaper, raised cheaper and is worth more when raised and matured than the horse, why should any one be afraid to pursue this busi ness with a vim and never look back? The seasons for horses are usually higher than for jacks to mares, and if a man has a blemished and decrepit mare he sends her to the Jack, but bis best mares be breeds to a horse. If the mule, with his poor, Insignificant, ill shapen, cold blooded mother, brings more than the horse, what could he do if he had the chance to have for a dam some of those fine mares that are stinted to horses whose service fee Is from $100 up to $500 and often more? The mule costs less in service fee, is raised cheaper, eats less and brings more money when matured than the horse. The mule lasts longer and can do more work on less feed than the horse. Mr. IXambleton, a Maryland authori ty, gives this as his experience as to the cost of raising mules: "From Oct 1 to April 30, when the mule goes to grass, would be about 1 barrels of corn (64 bushels) at $3 per barrel (es timated for an eastern Btate), or $3.75 for the first year; second year, add one-third, say $5; third year, another third, $0.G2, all equal to $14.37, cost for corn at three years old." This esti mate does not take into consideration that the mule may be put to work at two years old and earn his feed. Add to this for hay and roughage a similar amount, and you have the cost at $30, not including grass. It is said that a mule weighing TOO pounds at a furnace carried daily 15 tons of ore, 1 tons of shells and slack, 10 tons slag and sand and 8 tons of sittings and dirt from the ore kilns. The ore and sand were hauled up an elevation of 30 feet and a distance of WEIL BKEO MISSOURI MULE. 300 yards, the other about the same. This mule did this work for six years and was still at it when last heard from. Mules ar? little .subject to dis ease, as bots and colic. The greatest work horse troubles disturb mules but little. Bleeding at the mouth will cure them of nearly every malady and disease, anil by being turned out in pasture they will recover from almost any accident. Out of 100 mules ct the works we have not lost an average of one in two years. We do not recol lect to have seen but very few wind broken mules, and we dare say they are very few. They are rarely defec tive in the hoofs, although we keep them regularly shod, but it is not near ly so important to do so as In the case of the horse. Their skin is tougher than that of the horse, and conse quently they are not much worried by flies, nor do they suffer as much with the heat of the summer. They are truer In starting and never give up if well driven. The instinct of the mule is very strong, and he has a better mem ory, better Judgment and ought to have better treatment. Mules are truer pullers than the horse and quicker travelers with a load. Their vision and hearing are more acute. They are less liable to start suddenly -a fault with the horse. The mule is more steady in his draft and less liable to waste his strength; hence more suitable for all agricul tural work. Among all the agricul tural pursuits he is peculiarly suited for plowing among young crops, his feet being smaller and following each other so much more in line that he seldom treads on the tender plants. The facility of instructing him to obey implicitly the voice of the driver or the plowman is astonishing. The best plowing of land is often performed without lines or driver other than the plowman. Do not understand me to underrate the horse by any means, for he is the noblest animal perhaps of the domestic kind, but I merely make the plea foT the mule and seek to put him in his proper sphere, where burdens are tc be carried and drudgery and hard work to be done. I would not draw back one iota from the horse or his owners, but would encourage them tc raise better and more mares which are to become the dams of the mules. Coll Closely. Some of the young sows are not do ing very well In the way of raising large litters. Better cull them out. But don't demand too much. The sow that will average two litters of six or eight pigs each is worth keeping, espe cially if she is able to raise these pigs. HANDLING COLTS. Establish Tour Mastery While tbe A ill mil I la Yonngr- So much has been said about the breaking of colts that it 'hardly seems as if there is anything else to say, but the Importance of the subject .is full Justification for a repetition of what may have been said. What is a horse worth unless he has good manners and is under full subjection? With out these he should be put to such use as will not require them in any great measure, but surely he should not be used except by the best horse men. Some men can handle almost any horse, but there are others who will have trouble with the best Such a man should be careful to get only the kind that is well broken and has good manners, and let the other fel low that thinks he can handle any of them have the bad ones at what they are worth, and we can nearly always find some one who will take the chances. If you feel as If you cannot break a horse or colt do not try it for he will discover your fears very quickly. If you have any reason to fear you cannot master the colt better get help or sell him unbroken before taking the chances of spoiling him and thus making him so much harder to con quer. The ideal way Is to begin with the little fellow while yet weak and establish your mastery. Keep at it until he Is old enough to hitch, and the breaking will be easy. Establish the kind of fear that will keep Wm from violating your commands or dis regarding your authority, but not the kind of fright that will cause him to flee at sight of you and make it neces sary to corner him in order to halter him. I have seen men in charge of a bunch of colts who were so brutal to the little fellows that a comfortable box 6tall and plenty of good feed would not induce them to "run, the gantlet" of passing their keeper to get in out of a violent winter storm. And it was my fortune to have the some colts to break when the time came. After two or three years of that kind of treatment, do you think they ever forgot It? No. Pear was so thor oughly imbedded in their natures that they never forgot It It might not be out of place to state that that farm had to incur the extra expense of driv ing them from one to three years be fore they were safe to sell, and a num ber of them never were safe, which was principally on account of the bru tal treatment they bad received the first two years of their existence. While I am always sorry to see any kind of animal -abused. It is true I have had a few oolts to break that had come to that point wheee It seem ed that only a good sound whipping would reduce them to subjection. Kindness and coaxing might hav-e ac complished the work in time, but men do not like to pay the trainer for coax ing and petting their colts Into sub mission when it seems like an endless Job. Whether a horse is biddable and easily broken or shows a disposition to be headstrong and mean, he must be brought under subjection by some method before he can be considered safe. H. C. Peters Before Ohio Insti tute. THE FEEDER Silage is excellent food for sheep if It is kept sweet in airtight silos. This may be done, although the silage may heat and ferment. It improves silage to let It ferment and then cool down, but the air must be excluded, so as to prevent acid fermentation. Silage may be made of any kind of corn or rye, cut green, as soon as in the milk stage. But roots are preferable to all other kinds of winter feeds, as they will never ferment and turn sour, and soir food is quite unfit for sheep. An ex cellent silo may be made of wood staves, covered with heavy sheet iron or tin. No question about the econo my and advantage of growing the roots, as this is done so easily and cheaply, and they are preferable to any other winter feeding. American Sheep Breeder. Bono Strccjftbeners. The use of F:gar and molasses for cattle and horse feeding is gaining in popularity, says the Sugar Beet Laws In many European countries have been changed, exempting these products from taxation when they are to be used for feeding purposes. When re cently in Paris our attention was call ed to certain facts that may be inter esting to our readers. The omnibus company of the French city owns over 10,000 horses, and as out of that num ber there are about 700 broken legs per annum It was argued that possibly these accidents were in a measure due to some faulty combination of the daily rations. In 1901 the first experi ments were made, the one kilogram of sour mash that had hitherto been used beins substituted by an alkaline mo lasses combination. The results ob tained were encouraging beyond the most sanguine expectations, and in 1002 the number of broken legs was only seventy-nine. It was concluded that the extreme fragility of the ani mals' bony structure was due to the absence of the requisite mineral ele ments in their rations. There appears to be ample medical authority for as serting that heavy consumers of sugar, In case of bone fracture, will recover more . rapidly than when that article of luxury is eaten in moderation. In some hospitals patients that are laid up with compound, fractures of legs or arms receive In addition to their regu lar food allowance 150 grains of sugar, the cost of which is soon covered by the lesser period needed for the com plete healing of the bony tissue. THE SCRUB MUST GCv"! Improved Breedlna- of Live Stock the Order of tbe Day. Years ago when the state fair first opened it caught us in a state of total onpreparedness, as it were, especially on cattle, and very few fine Texas bred cattle were on exhibition, writes George H. Hogan in Farm and Ranch. A few enterprising exhibitors from oth er states with cattle and hogs saved the day, so to speak,, and opened the eyes of our understanding and set us to thinking along the lines of enlight enment The state fair was a revela tion to many, the state press especial !y. Oar agricultural press at once turned over a new leaf, and men be gan to breed along the lines of prac tical common sense. It Is a maxim among those best in formed on the subject that the sire is much more than half the herd in all uomesticated animals. Intelligent breeders all recognize the absolute ne cessity of an unbroken "blood line" in the sire, but thousands of our farmers. who have not taken time to get their heads above the plow handles long enough to attend the fairs, are still plodding along and breeding their stock, especially cattle, just any old way, simply to Increase the number and many times to avoid the payment of a reasonable breeding fee. "The scrub must go," is the hand writing on the walls of our barns and stables all over our land, whether he be swine, bovine, equine or the genus homo. Improved methods, improved breeding, improved implements, Im proved seed, are the order of the day and a failure to adopt which in this hustling age will certainly bring to ijrief all who stay in the old ruts. The competition in everything Is be coming so sharp that people are be ing forced to keep informed or they will be relegated to the rear. Yes, the scrub must go. THE SHEPHERD A young ewe should not be judged too hastily. She is not at her best with her first lamb. If she has the right breeding and the right feeding she probably will come out all right with her second offspring. Save tbe Ewe Lambs. The man who haa an Inferior flock, "kind o' brooroeorn ewes," might im prove his flock faster by selling both ewes and lambs and buying a few good ewes and starting anew, and when a lamb brings nearly as much as a ewe, as is now the ease, the tempta tion to part with all the lambs and take the chances of picking up a few good ewes later Is too strong for many to withstand, but good breeding ewes for sale ate wonderfully scarce and the prices asked almost prohibitive, says E. P. Snyder In the National Stockman and Farmer. The man who sacrifices all his ewe lambs every year soon finds himself with a flock of prof itless, superannuated old ewes and only finds out his mistake when It is too late. The man who takes pride in his flock and always uses a pure bred ram can well afford to reserve the best ewe lambs to keep up the standard of his flock, no matter how- great the temptation to take advantage of high prices. Mona&ement of Lambs. I rather favor early iambs, but you must have a warm stable, and more feed will be needed, says a writer in the American Agriculturist The ewes may have less wool than if the lambs come late. If you are likely to be come overstocked yon can get rid of lambs at good prices. The ewes will be fat in the fall to sell or in prime fix to breed again. To have good lambs ready for Easter you must push them all you can, besides feeding the moth ers strong feeds. I always have an ex tra pen for the lambs to go Into, where I give them sugar to gc& them started eating. Then I give ground oats and cornmeal bran, mill wheat sugar beets an in fact anything ey will eat, along with plenty of gT?d clover hay. If I want to keep them I dock all of them within two weeks from birth. Those I Intend to sell I omit For the ewes a good, roomy stable should be provided during the winter and also for summer use. to keep them away from sun and flies. The ewes must have plenty of exercise, even In winter time. Their main feed should be clover hay or alfalfa, If you have It, with some good cornfodder. I also give them cut sheaf oats and oats and shelled corn mixed. Oilmeal, bran and roots of some kind, with salt and sulphur, add to their flesh. You must be careful not to overfeed and should manage your flock so as to sell the ewes after the first or second lambing, to keep up the vitality of the general flock. Do not overstock. A small flock does better than a large one. Mutton Chops. A ewe gaining In flesh at mating time is much more likely to produce a good lamb than one in poor condi tion. To insure a thrifty and growing con dition some grain should be given ewes every day in addition to the pasture. Scrub rams will make yau scrub for the money you get. Don't keep them. Get good ones. One thing we must get over if we ever expect to make much with sheep and that is tying our pocketbooks into a hard knot when it comes to buying good sheep for the head of our flocks. The heep fence needs to be good and tight two or three feet up from the ground. Above that it . may be more open. Most of ns get so busy about other things just about this time of the year that we almost forget the sheep. Tie a string on your finger rather than neglect one of the most profitable ani mals on the farm. Farm Journal. FALL PLOWING. Deep Plowing; Brings Inert Soli to tbe Surface. - There Is often a difference of opinion as to how deap soil should be plowed in the fall. Iowa Homestead has the following to say on this subject in an swer to an inquiry: While the uUne of the soil to some extent regulates the depth of plowing, it may be said that on general princi ples fail plowing should be done fairly deep. la. tiie case of sandy soils and sandy loams we would hesitate before plowing more than four or five inches deep, for the reason that on such soiis it is better to keep them firm below and as far as possible keep the vegeta bie matter ami manurial constituents near the surface. There are certain ligit soils In tli3 corn belt though the area is s:nal!, th-jt would be more pro ductive ir they were never plowed, though cf cDcrse the preparation of a seed bel necessitates plowing from time to tire. If. hawever, the disk or Borne suvfaca cutting implement could be utilized to prepare the seed bed it would, in our opinion, increase produc tion. However, on average corn belt land the proposition is entirely different be cause there is not much danger of fer tility leaching away, while there seems to be considerable advantage in hav ing a good depth of friable soil. We have In mind a field that was plowed to a depth of about eight inches In the fall of 1905 and put to corn this year, The soil was a rich black loam with a somewhat stiff subsoil. The corn at present writing on this field gives ev ery appearance of reaching a yield of eighty or ninety bushels per acre, while the adjoining field, plowed somewhat shallow, has a much less thrifty ap pearance, though the soli is identical. In the case of the deeply plowed soil the fodder has been of a dark green color until the husks began to turn, and as a result nearly all the ears that formed were fully developed. In the other field the fodder took on a some what yellowish appearance when the corn was in the milk stage and at pres ent the ears, many of them, have the appearance of being a little small The theory of deep plowing is that it brings a certain amount of inert soil to the surface, where it is weathered, thus bringing about the liberation of fertil ity that would otherwise remain inert. It may require more work in the spring to prepare a seed bed on a deeply plowed soil than where it is plowed shallow, because it always pays to make the seed bed firm. However, we believe that in the case of the deep plowing the increase In the crop where corn is grown will much more than pay for the labor. The only precaution that we should advise would be that depth of plowing should be increased gradually. If a soli has been plowed to a depth of not more than four Inches we should not advise increasing the depth more than one inch at a time, because if more inert material than the extra inch In brought to tbe surface liberation of fertility may be so slow the first year as to interfere with maximum produc tion. By g-Mng an inch deeper each time until tbe soil is stirred seven oi eight inches deep one may reasonably expect good results. TELEPHONES ON FARMS. They Help to Quicken Rural Life and Improve Conditions. The material advantages of the tele phone for farmers has frequently been pointed out. It saves time and "time is money," but it does much more than that It is a. great quickener of the intellectual and social life of farmers, and this is a fundamental advantage which is sure to result in material ben efits. If we desire to improve the condi tion of any community the fundamen tal way of going about it is to educate, to quicken their thoughts and ideas. Improvements and machinery and Im proved methods are all necessary, but buck of these must be the quickened intelligence. The man who uses his muscles long hours every day to the exclusion of healthful mental and so cial diversion is not a farmer, but a machine an automaton. It is not from these that improvement comes. It is not these who advance. It is the man who thinks and then puts his thoughts into acts who improves meth ods and accomplishes results. A com munity of such people will be prosper ous. The telephone does quicken the, life of every community in which it be comes established. It aids in the rapid dissemination of news. It enables each farmer to talk to his neighbors any and every day about anything which mu tually Interests them. It enables them to quickly arrange for meetings and gatherings of all sorts. Muscle counts for less in farming than it used to and intelligence counts for more, but they should both go to gether. The farmer needs good school?, good papers and good books, but he also needs the telephone, concludes a writer in Farm and Ranch. Farm Notes. . Alfalfa Is no lazy man's crop. Fall plowing is the best on most farms. Just watch the cornfields grin from ear to ear. If you are afraid of work yon better let alfalfa alone. All men who keep bees are not nec essarily bee keepers. Alfalfa must have loose soil, and It can't stand wet feet Buying a manure spreader beats buy ing commercial fertilizer. Corn cut before the frost gets It is worth more to the cows than that which Is caught Kimball's Dairy Farmer. APPLE HARVEST. Bow to Handle tbe Crop In am Easy and Economical Way. All baskets should be of the half bushel type, round bottomed, with a swinging handle, and should be pro vided with a strong iron hook that can be hung .upon a limb or on the ladder, allowing the picker to have both hands free. Stepladders are not usually desirable In apple picking, because that portion of a tree covered by a stepladder can be equally well picked from a longer ladder, and an experienced picker pre fers not to move his ladder more than is necessary and also desires to cover just as much surface on the tree as is possible with one moving. Apples should never be handled but twice, once from the tree and again from the sorting table. When the sort ing and packing are done in the field the picker may deposit his apples di rect upon the table; otherwise they should be placed In boxes, crates or barrels and be removed at once to the packing house, at which place they will be cooler, and sorted at some later time. The advantages of a good storage building are twofold, especially in commercial orchards. When picking time arrives every effort should be made to harvest the crop at the earliest possible moment, and if the grading and packing were done in the orchard at the same time it would call for an extra number of hands, and In these days, when scarcity of labor and high prices for the same are such factors In crop production, it Is by far better economy to concentrate all efforts to ward harvesting the crop before at tempting to prepare It for market Again, if packing is attempted at the same time with picking, the manager's attention will be divided between the two operations, with the probability that neither will receive the care It should have, and still again, unless fruit Is to be Immediately placed In a chemical cold storage, it is far better for it to be stored In a building which can be thrown open at night when the air is clear and crisp, as it will be at that season of the year, and have the storage closed tightly in the daytime. Many dealers today give decided pref erence to fruit which has been stored in a well ventilated storehouse. They claim that it will keep practically as well up to March or April and that there is much less danger from scald when taken out of storage. Shiftless packing really accounts for more than one-half of all the unsatis factory returns from fruit and to rem edy this trouble it calls for the united efforts of growers and dealers. They should realize that their interests are mutual and not antagonistic; that what ever tends to build up tbe apple In dustry affects one as well as the other. Our eastern fruit is, as a rule, better than the western and, being grown near the consumer, ought to command a superior price, and yet it is a fact because of the better sorting and pack ing, it drives the home fruit from the markets. Upon the best brand of fruit a trademark is often Important some neat pictorial design or even the name of the farm or orchard where the fruit Is 'grown. Cyrus Miller In American Cultivator. Cotton Seed. That like produces like is a law of plant life to be observed in all details. From your best field of cotton select the best portion and In this choice divi sion mark the most vigorous and pro ductive plants showing short joints and fruit limbs near the bottom. The entire plant should be an exceptional fruit producer. Seed should be selected from these marked cotton stalks, but the top bolls and the bolls on the ends of the limbs should not go Into the lot for seed; they tend to make the cotton later. The bolls selected for seed should be picked by special field hands, sent in advance of the regular pickers. This seed cotton must be stored in a dry place and watched to atoid mix ing. Special care must be taken at ths gin that the gin and floor are free from all other cotton seed before ginning. Store this seed in a dry place. Where greater length of staple is de sired select for seed such bolls only as show the longest staple. By careful selection most any desired qualities or characteristics can ultimately be se cured, says a writer in Farm and Ranch. Raisins Cabbages. Seed may be sown between Oct I. and 15. It may be sown later, but ars the plants are subjected to severely cold weather in December it is impor tant that they should be large enough at that time to withstand hard frosts. When the thermometer falls below 21 degrees they are. likely to be killed. To secure the necessary hardiness and low stocky growth the seed should be sown thinly on rather light unmanured soil. Instead of making a sowing in the open air after Nov. 1 the careful gardener will provide against loss by frost by sowing under glass in cold frames about Nov. 15. Oemler. ' Call Out tbe Flock. The young fowls are now almost fully developed, and we can easily sep arate the good from the bad. Go over the flock now and send all those that are not up to the standard requirement to the butcher. Do not cull too close, as some few may outgrow apparent de fects, and if not they also may be sent later on. Often half grown fowls show off col ored feathers, but after the molt they discard the feathers, and the new suit shows no defects. Cull gradually, but. do not keep any which are not fully up to the standard requirements. Home and Farm. HEAVEN AND HELLH3 Odd Theories as to the Location 4 - Paradise and Hades. Hell and heaven beliefs had their origin about the year 150 B. C, and since that time there have been thousands of attempts to locate these places, the one cf future pun ishment and. the other of everlast ing happiness. The old mediaeval idea of hell is the one which gives us to understand that the devil and his imps have their furnaces and their caldrons and other articles of infernal utility constantly working somewhere within the bowels of the earth. On the other hand, we are told and believe that heaven is an abode of light, beauty and joy lo cated far above the earth. One writer believes that heaven will be on a planet which will be prepared for the saints in the last day, and another believes that this earth; burned over and purified by fire, will be the final resting place of those who escape the horrors of perpetual punishment in the hell that has been prepared or those who love sin." Dr. Whiston, the friend of Sir Isaac Newton and the first of the great race of "specula tive astronomers," believes that hell is located on a comet. But the most curious theory we have ever investigated was that advanced- by Dr. Mortimer, author of "The Spirit of God as Fire." One of the Beveral substitutes of this re markable book was one which gave the reader to understand that the author believed that heaven is lo cated on the inner globe of the sun. This substitute was "The Globe Within the Sun Our Heaven." Ac cording to Mortimer's theory, our sun is surrounded bv an envelone or photosphere of flame 100,000 miles itself. Taken all together, this idea of the photosphere is a vast non luminous void. Farther on is the great globe of the sun itself. Taken all together, this idea of the sun may be aptly compared to a peach or plum. The envelope of flame occupies the place of the skin, the "vast nonluminous void" the place of the meat of the fruit and the central globe (true" 6un) the place of the seed. On this sun globe, inside the great fiery envel ope, Dr. Mortimer believed heaven to be fiituated. The photosphere or envelope of fire he took to be hell or the place of future punishment for the wicked. The "nonluminous void," according to Mortimer, is the "great gulf between," which is men tioned quite frequently in the Scrip tures. RIGHTS UNDER A PATENT. Each of the Three Constitutes a Sepa rate Monopoly. To make, to use and to sell ar the only ways in which an invention is capable of commercial enjoyment. The patentee can, if he wishes, sit down and not only not use the in vention himself, but prevent other? from making or using or selling tfce patented thing. If any one else makes, uses or sells the subject of the patent the courts will grant thu patentee an injunction against fur ther infringement and a recovery of the profits made. Each of these three rights ts make, to use and to sell is a sep arate monopoly and may, by proper instruments, be granted or sold sep arately. For instance, a patentee of a machine could grant to a manu facturer the exclusive right to make the machines for him (of course un der proper restrictions as to price, etc.), and the manufacturer would be an infringer if he used the ma chines or sold them to others. The patentee could then grant to a job ber the exclusive right to sell the machines (reserving proper compen sation to himself, such as a percent age of the profits), and the jobber would be an infringer if he either made or used the machine. The exclusive right to use the machines could then be granted to a given consumer, who in turn would have no right to make or sell the ma chines. The exclusive right to use an in vention for each of several given 1 j. i n in purposes can oe separately soia. r cr instance, a patentee of a process fcr making watch dials not only soil the exclusive right to make watch dials by that process, but he also sold to a separate company the e::--elusive right to use the process i:i making, enameled signs under tha same patent. The watch manufac turer would have been an infringe. if he had made signs and, vice versa, the sign manufacturer would have been restrained from making watch dials. A process of drying gunpowder, was found to be applicable to dry ing breakfast foods, and the owners, after getting all they had ever look ed for from the patent from the gunpowder rights, reaped a second and unexpected harvest from the sale of the rights for breakfast foods. The rights under a patent for a machine can be divided in the same way. Edwin J. Prindle in Engineering Magazine.