LIVE STOCK NOTES.
Items of Value For the Stoeltmn to
Remember.
Fit your stock for market before of
fering It for sale. A nicely finished
animal often sells for a good profit
when a poorly finished one would sell
at a Jos.
Teach the colt good manners, says
the Fanners Advocate. It is far easier
to teach them to lead and drive while
they are small than after they are ;
grown.
All the stock lots ought to be fenced j
pig tight and the pigs allowed the I
freedom of th?m. Tigs penned closely j
do not thrive like those that have plen
ty of ran;:e. j
The demand for mules grows greater j
each year.
If vour hogs are mangy try dipping ;
them in crude oil or one of the coal tar
preparations. Burn old bedding and
disinfect old quarters. Stamp out the
mange by active, effective treatment.
It is better to start with a small
flock of common sheep than to start
with a pure bred flock and abuse it,
for high bred stock must have care to
make a success of it.
If yon permit sows with pigs of dif
ferent ages to run together the larger
pigs will rob the smaller ones. If your
sows must share the same pens ar
range to have the pigs come at about
the same time.
The horse that refuses to eat when
feed is put before him is ailing and
should not be worked. If he Is well he
will eat readily.
The breeding, feeding and general
care of the heifer are Important points.
Train up tlie calf in the way she
should go. and when she becomes a
cow she will not depart from it.
A wooden floor in the barn to be
practicable should have sufficient slope
to carry off all moisture and enough
circulation underneath to keep dry.
Bear this In mind in purchasing a
horse: If he has uny defects, physical
or otherwise, t!isy will not likely grow
less.
Ever try cleaning out the old hay
and the dust that accumulate In the
horses' mangers? How would you like
to eat meal after meal from the same
plate without its having been washed?
Not very well, eh? That is what you
compel your horse to do when you fall
to clean out his manger.
Wood ashes is a good correction to
keep at the disposal of the swine. De
pend upon it, they will not eat more of
it than their system demands. Salt is
another article that should be freely
supplied. Corn and water for hog feed
Is cheap in price, but a dear feed after
all when gains are counted. I
When you see a hog literally stand
ing on his head rooting in the dirt in
his pen you can depend on it that hia
system demands something that you
have not supplied him with. When
hogs get the rooting habit their ledger
balance is sure to be found on the
wrong side of the page. j
Dehorning- Cattle.
We dehorn nearly all of our cattle,
writes an Iowa breeder In the Rural
New Yorker. We dehorn our year
lings in the fall or spring. The fall, as
soon as the flies leave, is a good time,
or about the 1st of March. The horns
should be cut off before the flies come.
Cattle can be dehorned at any age. It
is better to cut the horns off when
they are young. It pays well to de
horn cattle. They feed a great deal
better, there are no bosses among them
then, and it does not take near the
room for them. Tou can put twenty
head in a barn loose where you could
not put half that many with horns on.
Tlioy ship by the carload so much bet
ter. They sell to shippers from 5 to 10
cents more than cattle with their horns
on. If you have a cow or steer that Is
Inclined to be cross just cut its horns
off and it stops the trouble. It takes
less corn to feed cattle with their horns
off than with their horns on.
FRESH AIR IN HOUSES.
Poaltrr Heed Cool ftaarten, tJt
Should Hot Sleep la the Ones.
There la a vast difference between
using well ventilated or open front
fresh air houses and permitting birds
to roost out in the open, says P. T.
Woods in Reliable Poultry Journal.
Fresh air is essential to life and
health. It Is one of the best things
that we have, but even our best pos
sessions may be abused, and it Is
sometimes possible to have too much
of a good thing. While roosting out of
doors in the trees may be productive
of no harm during summer weather
and early autumn, we firmly believe
that much harm may result by per
mitting them to continue to occupy
these airy perches after the severe,
changeable late fall and winter weath
er sets in. Birds kept under such con
ditions could not be expected to give
satisfactory returns in either eggs or
fertility. With an open front house
they have all the advantages of the
pure air obtained by sleeping In the
open and none of the disadvantages.
They are well protected by the tight
roof overhead and the snug back and
sides of their roosting quarters. The
cold, chilling winds cannot reach them,
and storms cannot injure them.
Of the many types of fresh air poul
try houses the following rank as the
best examples of satisfactory buildings
for breeding and laying stock: The
Maine experiment station curtain front
poultry house, the Tolman 8 by 14
colony fresh air poultry house, the J.
H. Robinson pattern of cheap poultry
house, with wide doors which open
the entire front, and Dr. Brieault's
convertible poultry house, possess
ing a two part door In the front of
each pen, the upper half of which may
be made to give place to a burlap or
muslin screen. Nearly all closed poul
try houses may be adapted to the fresh
air plan by simply substituting a screen
of heavy unbleached muslin for the
upper half of one window in the
south front of each pen, provided the
house possesses sufficient depth to per
mit the birds to roost In the rear por
tion without being exposed to direct
drafts.
Preparing Birda For Exhibition.
Washing white birds is one of the
greatest accomplishments of an ex
hibitor, and few there be that possess
the accomplishment, says Farm Poul
try. The few that do possess this se
cret have an advantage at the start
that is hard to overcome.
The most successful exhibitors of
white birds wash In three waters a
very warm water with lots of suds
made with soap or soap bark in a
great majority of cases; a second tub
which contains water which has had
the chill taken off and is perfectly
clean (this forms the first rinse); the
third tub forms the second rinse and
Is perfectly cold. This is generally
the final rinse, but all the soap must
be got out or the feathers will curl.
The drying room must be kept close
to 90 degrees F. The birds are gen
erally allowed to dry overnight. They
are then gradually accustomed to the
normal temperature. Some of the best
washers give repeated washings.
Ammonia is often used In small quan
tities In the washing water.
THE SWINEHERD
Change the feeding ground occasion
ally. It will be better for the hogs and
for the pasture.
Nail slats across the trough to keep
the hogs out of their drinking water.
Keep the old sows as long as they
produce good litters and are good
mothers.
A good Doghouse means good hog
business.
Clean, disinfected yards help keep
the cholera away.
Build the hoghouse so it can be used
every day ia the year.
Throw the hard coal ashes in the hog
yard. The pigs like them.
It takes more corn to put a scrub on
the market than a good pig.
Save your breeders from the sows
that are the best mothers.
The hoghouse should be on a well
drained spot dry, well ventilated,
light, warm and durable.
Keep a close watch of your hogs, and
doVt let infection spread. These two
things will do much to check cholera.
Kimball's Dairy Farmer.
At Weanlna- Time.
At weaning time there is not so much
dauger of losing the pigs as of check
ing their growth. The pig is not yet
I hog, and he can hardly subsist as the
bog does. A good deal of nourishment
in liquid form is needed and also under
tender grass.. It does not take much
grain, but they like a bit pf oats, wheat
or corn. Their teeth cannot handle
much that is hard; hence softening it
by soaking will be beneficial. Sweet
milk and middlings warmed with Tiot
water will appeal to their appetites at
weaning time, and It need not be mads
as strong as when fed later. It is gen
erally known, says Western Life, that
our milk should not be siren.
Mark the Turkeys.
One should mark their turkeys for
future Identification. The leg band
bearing your Initials or number can be
readily placed on the shanks of young
turkeys about the time they begin to
wander far from home, says Feather.
Some mark . their turkeys by clipping
the toe nails or one or more toes or dif
ferent toes. Many different brands of
markings can be made use of "by this
means. The toe punch may be used
and Identification marks stamped
trough the toes. Some use a rubber
stamp and indelible Ink to brand the
wing feathers. This cannot be de
pended upon.
A needle and indelible Ink may be
used to prick an indelible ink mark in
to the web of the flesh and skin at the
union of the pinion with the second
Joint of the wing. This can be done
and the mark never obliterated.
Hon to Kill Fowls.
The best method of killing a fowl is
by seizing it by the feet with the left
hand and by the head with the right
and then stretching its neck with a
jerk to the utmost extent and at the
same time bending its head back
ward, so as to dislocate It neck and
sever the spinal cord. A fowl may
be killed by holding it In the left
hand with its head hanging down
ward and then striking it a hard blow
on the back of the head with a heavy
stick, like a ruler, or it may be killed
quickly by chopping off Its head. It
may also be killed quickly by twisting
the neck until it is dislocated and the
spinal cord severed.
An Excellent Plan.
In my opinion, it would be better for
a farmer with a flock of 300 to 400 to
put his pullets in one flock and hens for
breeders in another, saving the best
laying pullets for the next year, and
buy his males of a fancier or breeder
that is, in breeding for egg production
and market fowls instead of havias
j small pens and trying to breed hit own
cockerels, says a fancier in Eehabie
t Poultry Journal. He could buy of the
same man each year and so be in one
strain.
Use at Spray Pomp.
No one should attempt to keep poul-.
try in a good healthy condition without'
a spraying apparatus for throwing in
secticides into the nest boxes, crevices
and about the roosting places In the
henhouse. The use of one of these
makes it possible to reach every hid
den spot and saves a wonderful
amount of material used for destroy
ing the vermin.
PORTABLE HOG HOUSES.
Am Easy Matter to Pat Them In a
New Location.
A handy portable hog house in use
at the Montana experiment station is
described in Orange Judd Farmer as
follows:
These houses have been in use for
more than two months, and the idea is
such a practical one nnd the outlay so
small that we give our exact plan for
building.
It might be stated right here that
the material for the roof, ends and
5
' FIG. I PLATFORM FOB HOG HOUSE.
floor of the hog house was ordinary
1 by 5 tongued and grooved flooring,
which cost us at the rate of $23 per
thousand. The other material used
was the ordinary 2 by 4 scantling,
which cost $15 per thousand. First
make a platform 6 by 6 feet, with four
2 by 4 pieces supporting it and running
the entire length as skids. The plat
form will appear as In Fig. 1.
Next a 2 by 4 is supported four and
a half feet above the center of the
platform, with Its long way running
the same direction as the 2 by 4 skids
supporting the floor. Now begin to
nail the boards that are to make the
slanting roof to the edge of the plat
form and also to the 2 by 4 supported
above the floor. It will not be long
before the slanting roof boards will
FH1. II IN COURSE OF BUHiDINO.
support the 2 by 4 at the 'top, and the
false supports may be knocked out.
The hog house partly built may be
seen in Fig. 2. After the roof is nailed
on completely then come the ends of
the house. We first fit in pieces of
2 by 4 under the roof and resting on
the floor. One of these may be seen in
Fig. 2. The bottoms of these are toe
nailed to the floor and the tops nailed
securely down through the roof. To
these 2 by 4"s the end Doards are
nailed. The ends of the house should
be so inserted that the roof projects
an inch or so beyond, to prevent the
rain leaking through in wet weather.
In one of the ends the door is made.
A swinging door, as in Fig. 3,' is fitted
to the opening, and the hinges, which
are at the top, are simply loops of
wire. This wire runs through holes
bored above the door and also through
two holes through the top of the door,
the idea being to have the door swing
either in or out, according to the will
of the hog.
Two round openings are placed, one
in either end of the house, near the
1 "
vV
V ,
WW
Flfl. m A MOVABLE 8TBCCTURE. .
Will accommodate from two to six hogs,
according to size.
peak of the roof. These ventilating
holes are about six inches across and
are controlled by swinging blocks, fas
tened sufficiently stiff so as to stay
wherever turned. The hog house com
plete, showing swinging door and ven
tilator hole, will appear as in Fig. 3.
Now, if an armful of straw be placed
Inside of one of the houses, we have a
snug, comfortable and warm winter
house. With these Individual houses
It Is a very easy matter, with the use
of a horse, to draw the house to an
entirely new, clean and dry location.
Farm Brevities.
Anybody who can drive a team can
spread manure with a spreader.
It's easy to put off the short jobs till
another day, but it never pays.
Down in Alabama they get the best
returns by sowing their oats in No
vember. Keep the water from lodging in the
road. That's the secret of the road
drag.
Dont throw away the wood ashes.
They are valuable for the lawn, garden
or orchard.
Put the manure upon the ground as
fast as it accumulates. You may have
some trouble doing this during the
coldest weather, but most of the year
it can be done with a spreader.'
COW HORN TURNIP.
Seem Tsod With Benefit For
Chamsrlna- Soil Textnre.
Much has been said of the cow
horn turnip as a soil Improver, or,
rather, ameliorator, as It Is supposed
to benefit more by changing the soil
texture than by bringing in new fer
tilizing material, like clover and other
legumes. It will grow in unproduc
tive clay soils and bores deep Into the
ground, opening up by Its decay In
winter the deeper compact layers and
adding a most appreciable amount of
humus. The seeds are commonly sown
with crimson clover In August or Sep
tember in corn or on fields that might
otherwise remain bare through winter.
It has been used in this manner with
perceptible benefit on Hope farm and
in thousands of other trials through
out the country.
A Handy Plant.
In bringing a newly purchased addi
tion into cultivation we concluded to
use this handy plant. The plot was
deeply plowed in June, after the ever
green nursery that had occupied it
many years had been removed, and
twice harrowed at intervals of a fort
night to kill sprouting weeds and drag
off the numerous roots. A portion was
planted with late table corn, fertilizing
with hen manure In the hill. Crimson
clover and cow horn turnips at the rate
of four ounces turnip to fifteen pounds
clover seed were sown on the remainder
Aug. 10, working it in with an ordinary
cultivator.
Mixed Seeds.
Mixed seeds were later sown in the
same proportion at the last working of
the corn in September. We tried to
sow the clover at the rate of fifteen
pounds to the acre and secured a thick
stand for soil in such poor condition.
There was abundance of rain, enabling
the clover to smother the turnips al
most completely In the early sowing,
but in the corn there was a good
stand, entirely covering the clover In
many places. Rural New Yorker.
Kansas Hoar Wallows.
Farmers In the Kansas oil fields re
port great results from a novel use of
crude oil. For lice on hogs they find
the costly, dipping tank unnecessary.
The ordinary hog wallow is better. A
thin layer of crude oil is poured over
the water in the wallow. The hog3 do
the rest. Every louse, tick, flea and
other pests is destroyed. "The hogs are
said to learn very soon to skim the
oil. and swallow it, to their great ad
vantage. If the water dries up, the oil rests on
the bottom of the wallow until the
next rain, when it rises to the top and
is 'ready for business as before.
. For the chickens the interior of the
henhouse is painted all over, including
the floor, with crude oil. Two applica
tions a year are reported to be suffi
cient to insure immunity from all para
sites. Crude oil Is cheap. A barrel of it
should be kept and used on every
farm. The small enemies of stock
cause great discomfort to the animals
and reduce the profits of the owners.
Ditches on Uneven Land.
It often happens that a farm is more
or less cut up by ravines or depres
sions which intersect or separate fields
and the supply ditches have to be ex
tended across these low places. This Is
usually done In one of three ways.
When the depression is not more than
a few feet deep levees are built on
each side. In other cases flumes are
built on grade from side to side, and
lastly the water may be carried across
in a pipe laid In the form of an invert
ed siphon. The earth levee is the
cheapest, but It is subject to leaks and
washouts for the first few years. The
wooden flume answers the purpose
fairly well, but it Is subject to early
decay, and the clay or cement pipe laid
beneath the surface, although dearer
at first cost, is really the cheapest in
the end.
. , Control of Weeds.
The margin of supply ditches on
most irrigated farms is the breeding
ground of weeds. The seeds of these
fall Into the water and are widely scat
tered by the irrigation stream. The
banks of ditches should be graded and
smoothed so that the weeds which
grow along the sides can be readily cut
and burned. A rapid growing forage
crop like alfalfa also tends to keep
down the weeds and may be sown
along the banks for this purpose.
Watering; Fowls In Winter."'
It is difficult to supply fresh water
to poultry when the weather is severe
ly cold, as the water freezes and can
not be used. Earthenware fountains
are often broken by expansion during
freezing, and the only convenient meth
od of providing; water is with, the .aid
of wooden troughs, which cn be scald-
ed and kept clean, with .easgj. TcravoidJ holSino "rtiE- gate ea through It
plan of watering' their '"fowls three
To Hold a Gate Open.
The illustration shows a very handy
method which I Invented to hold a
swing gate open any width. Most
gates are hung so they swing upward
a little in opening, to clear snow,
grass, etc. They swing shut of their
own accord;
hence some
thing to hold
the gate open at
any place while
driving through
or letting out
stock Is a ne
cessity. To meet this
need I devised
the brace shown
herewith. It is
simply a piece
of wood 1 by 2
inches and a lit
tle longer than
half the height
of the gate. One
end is fastened
by a spike pass-
sS&sgR8BJK2jaiIp!i'
open; - and driven into
the .edge of the vertical board at the
times aday, using tepid water, and'the j end of 'the' gate.'or if 'may be put on
birds soon become accustomed to the: with-abIngeT"" The dotted lines show
practice. Immediately after the hens, its position when not In use. It being
have finished drinking the troughs are ' swung upward and snapped beneath a
emptied, placed on end out of the way j spring nailed to the top of the gate,
and used only when the next watering says a writer In American Agricultnr-
of the flock occurs. I 1st.
"LI
A Serial Story Entitled
NCO LN'S
E Af FAIRS"
Scon be Published En the Gazette
This entrancing story was written
by
WARD HILL LAM0N
Lincoln's Law Partner
Mr. Lamon was the author of "Lin
coln's ioyStcod," a serial published
lci the Oazette a year ago . . .
"Lincoln's Love Affairs" affords a
vivid insight of the life and beautiful
womanly attributes of Miss Ann Kut
ledge, the object of Lincoln's first great
affection, and unhappy mental condition
on her death. His short courtship of
Miss Mary Owens creates intense in
terest and is historically correct.
Final Courtship and Marriage of
ISS MARY TODD
Lincoln's early experiences as a law
maker and other interesting incidents
in the life of thei great emancipator.
SUBSCRIBE fOR THE GAZETTE NOW
Published twice a week for $1.50 per
annum, in advance.
This Story Alone Is Worth the Price
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