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About The Athena press. (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 1910)
Sftfitt-. RAISING CALF ON SKIN MILK Much of Success Depends Upon Care of Little Animal Proper Shel ter Is Essential. (By F. A. BOARMAN.) In case of the stere calf which will become a feeder, while he shoved bo growthy, he should be kept reasona bly fat He Is the calf which should have the corn and should have the fat-making foods. He should be reared In Just the op posite direction, as compared with the heifer calf. It will not hurt the steer calf even to have his drink or skim milk when he is six or seven months old, if there is a surplus but skim milk cannot be utilized to as good advantage as in the case of the heifer. The best skim milk calves are those which are born in the fall of the year. Their young life is spent in a more favorable season. The milk they get as a rule will be in better condition than the milk which the spring calf will get If you select dairy blood for your herd, one of the things which should attract your attention when you make four final decision is the vitality of the breed you select This shows up particularly strong In the calf during the first few months of his life. Dairy breeds, as you know, are not all equal in vitality. My ex perience in raising calves on skim milk has been confined principally to the rearing of Holsteln calves. I want to say in this connection In our own herd a calf never sucked Its mother and in this way, after ten or twelve years of breeding, the suck ing Instinct was largely bred out of the calves. These calves were easily taught to drink. Not all of the success of rearing skim milk calves depends upon the feed or upon the breed. Very much Indeed depends upon the care of the calf, and feed without proper shel ter will avail but little. The calf must be made comfortable In warm as well as cold weather. If he is not failure will result Let your feeding arrangement be such that each calf get his share. Do not, as I have seen on many farms, pour the milk Into a tub or a trough and let the calf fight for his share. There is no chance for disagreement on this point This Is not fedlng. It will be found advisable, summer or winter, to arrange that each calf can get his individual share of the food, in a yard in the summer time, or In a pen in the winter. If you have plenty of time it will be found advisable to tie each calf at each feeding. Tie around each calf's neck a ring two Inches in di ameter with a light rope. v Give each calf a place at a post and taple to the post two feet above the ground a rope not more than eight or ten inches long with a swivel snap In the end. Have these ropes far enough apart to prevent the calves from reaching each other and you will have no trou ble from the calves sucking one an other's noses or ears. Keep the calves tied until the milk is licked from their chops and noses. If the calves be of about equal size they may be turned loose to a trough in which is the grain food. RAISING SWINE FOR PROFIT HORSE-BONNET IS IMPROVED Does Not Limit Movement of Animal's Cart and Causes Air to Cir culate. Mr. John M. Davles of Plattsburg, N. Y., has Invented a horse bonnet of mailer dimensions than heretofore, which will not limit the movement of the ears of the horse, says Scientific mertcan. Within the bonnet a drum Success It Determined by Intelligent and Constant Care to Details ; , and Judgment Success in hog raising is determined by intelligent dally, sometimes hourly care and attention to small details, and good Judgment. When a farmer decides to become a hog raiser, he should plan to stay permanently In the business. For the capital, labor and time required there Is no bus! ness that will pay larger profits, in many sections of the country, than hog raising. With an expert stock ralsei as hogh as 300 per cent net profit has been made in six months under or dinary farm conditions. The breed to raise is the kind the grower likes best There are more differences In the individuals of any breed than there are between choice animals of the different breeds. A good hog, well bred from . a prolific strain of any of the popular breeds of hogs, will make money for the farmer when handled right. Well finished hogs of the proper weight are always in great demand. Hogs weighing alive 220 to 250 pounds Building and Yards. each, will supply cured hams wetgt lng 16 to 18 pounds, and sides ol weighing 10 to 12 pounds each, These weights command a premium of 75 cents per hundred pounds abov lighter hams and sides. Well finished hogs, only, are want ed. The hog should be well fattened and rounded out, the flesh coming well down on the hocks, and the fat on the sides should be from 1 to 1V6 incheu thick. In a finished hog the flesh will be firm and hard to the toucli and the hair will be smooth and lus. trous. The flesh should be firm, th fat pure white and the best consumer want a good proportion of lean. Many farmers neglect their hogs through the summer, stunting them, and stunted hogs do not finish well mntie Qi .fflJ i :d Uoxttr ao aeon. I L-XwaJ YAAOi tXl Horse Bonnet With Drum. Is suspended provided with a perfo rated bottom, while a diaphragm Is stretched across the upper face of the drum. The diaphragm carries a weight which, owing to its Inertia, causes the diaphragm to flex in rhythm to the movement of the horse's head while trotting or walking. This causes the air In the drum to be alternately ex polled and drawn In, thus producing circulation, within the bonnet Rearing the Lamb. If necessary to rear a lamb by hand, a New York state farmer says he finds the lamb the best Judge of amount of milk required and feeds at first nearly all It will drink, which la almost one-quarter of a pint every three hours, the last feed coming at I p. m. After the grass starts the feeds art gradually reduced to one half pint three timet a day. The milk fed In this way will yield larger profit than If told to the cheese fac tor Ground Plan of Piggery. An unfinished, stunted hog weighing 150 pounds will dress about 65 pei cent Bacon from such, hogs sells at wholesale for one-half that from fin lshed hogs. The bacon from the un finished, light hogs, when cooked, con Blsts of skin and flabby, soft meat, and the consumer Is dissatisfied. The flesh on the live, unfinished hog is soft and flabby to the touch. and the hair has a dead appearance. The meat from an unthrifty hog Is always soft and that from thin hogs is usually soft Special attention should be paid tc housing the swine. Hogs are more disturbed by wind than any other farm animal and their shelter should thoroughly protect them from wind and from draughts. The piggery shown here is a satis factory building where a permanent one is wanted. The partitions be tween the pens are movable In case it is desired to use the building for fattening hogs. The doors leading to the yards are raised from the central alley by means of ropes and pulleys. A shute across the ends of one set of yards makes It an easy matter tc dip hogs regularly. It is 6 feet to the eaves and 16 feet to the ridge above the pens. Additions to th!a house can be made when desired and th building remain Just as convenient POULTRY LIKE GREEN FEEDS Regarded at Absolutely Necessary Where Fowlt Are Confined In Summer. " (By MILLER PURVIS.) I regard green feeds as absolutely necessary to the welfare of poultry, old and young, both summer and win ter. Where fowls are kept confined It muBt be supplied to them and where they have full liberty it may be fed to them with profit during the months when vegetation la somewhat burned by the heat A letter from a friend exactly coin cides with the experience. He writes that last summer he had a batch of rape which he cut and fed to his hogs. He says his hens ate this rape as greedily as they would if they had not been shut up where they could not be out to find grass for themselves. I have noticed this more than once. Throw out a lot of fresh lettuce leaves where the hens can get it and they will eat it up clean. Cabbage stumps thrown out to the hens will be picked clean, even where the hens run at large. Those who must keep their hens confined will find that a small plat of rape will furnish a large quantity of green feed during the summer. It will be large enough to begin cutting in five or six weeks and as soon as it is cut off will throw jjp new shoots, thus renewing Itself constant ly, so the same ground my be cut over time after time. Lettuce or dandelions make a very good green feed for laying hens or growing chicks. There seems to be some medicinal property about both these vegetables which promotes good health in the fowls. Both are easily grown and furnish a good supply of feed if the tops are cut off Instead of pulling the plants out by the roots when gathering the feed. Turnips and beet tops, mustard, pea vines and all other tender green stuff will be relished, and save much feed of a more costly kind. RUNNING THE DAIRY RIGH1 People Willing to Pay Big Price for Milk If They Are Sure That It Is Clean. (By R. M. STERLING.) We take pains to let our customers know how we run things in our dairy and charge two cents more than we used to get for our milk. Our cus tomers pay it without grumbling, for they know our dairy is immaculate and our milk pure and clean, and I believe we could get an extra two cents if we had the courage to ask for it. I know a farmer in New Jersey who has built up a dairy herd of 200 cows and by producing certified milk gets 20 cents a quart and cannot sup ply the demand. Of course he has a big market in New York, you say. That is true, but he manages to sell every gallon of his milk In towns sur rounding his dairy, 17 miles from New York city. This goes to show that there are always enough people, even outside the big cities, to buy milk which they know to he absolutely clean, and at prices a great deal high er than they have been paying for ordinary stuff dipped out of a rusty can by slovenly milkmen. LiveStoc K (iff Shear the sheep before their wool gets to be a burden. Keep the sheep pens clean. Dirt and foul odors affect sheep quickly. Never teed the young pigs on the ground, especially if it Is dusty or muddy. No sheep has yet been developed which excels in both mutton and wool production. Sheep must be grown rapidly while young If they are expected to attain a large size. A horse that is afraid of the elec trie cars can never be taught what they are by whipping. Sell your wool on a rising market Nine times out of ten you will miss it if you try to keep it for something better. If a good lamb comet from, a good ewe, save It for your own flock. Don't let any butcher talk you Into selling it The boar pigs should be castrated at two to eight weeks old, so they will recover from the effects before weaning time. There is little money In poor sheep. They will Just about eat a man out of bouse and home. Good ones or none that's 'the motto for ut all. Sufficient care la not exercised by many In weaning out the ewet that breed Irregularly, and because of this the uniformity In the tlie of the lamb crop Is reduced. POULTRY NOTES. Keep no breeding stock that is weak. , ' Use the eggs while fresh for hatch ing. Supply grit and fresh water. Pro vide shade. Do not overfeed or overfatten the parent stock. Feed the ducklings not only grain, but meat or milk (protein food in some form) and plenty of green food. Both mites and body lice accumu late very quickly in hot weather, and cause no end of trouble. Farm folks are seeing from their more up-to-the-minute neighbors that good housing and feeding pay big returns on the work and investment As a rule more may be obtained for a two-pound chick in the summer than for one twice as heavy In the fall, and much feed, work and risk saved. PASTURE AND THE MEADOW Careful Study of 8ubject Will 8how Variety of Grasses Better Than Only One Kind. (By S. M. MILLER.) It sometimes seems as if one-half of the farmers were doing everything possible to fight, nature and when we make a study of the various grasses and their peculiar needs we wonder that we have been succeeding as well as we have in growing good crops of hay. A careful study of the English system of maintaining a permanent meadow and pasture would essentially aid us in the management of our grass lands. There we may find from ten to twenty kinds of grass growing on one sod and all thriving and pro ducing hay and forage. We go on our meadows when the proper times come, cut the grass, cure it Into hay and haul it to the stack or barns and think no more about the whole matter until the next year comes and then we go out and go through the same motions only get a smaller crop and keep this up until the yield is. so small that we feel it is necessary to plow up the field and reseed it to clover and timothy again. We don't go to the trouble of top dressing or fertil izing the meadow or tile drain to prevent the water from drowning It out during the wet season nor do we plan to leave a -stubble to protect it from the hot summer sun. Animals will often walk from one end of a large pasture to another to get a nibble of some variety of grass that is different from that in the other end of the pasture. Pastures that contain the greatest number of varieties of grass are in variably the ones that will support the most stock. It Is one of the greatest evils of our system of farming to plow up a good pasture for it requires a num ber of years to get a good turf es tablished. In selecting grass seed for a perma nent pasture select kinds that will bloom in succession from early sum mer until late in the fall so that when one kind is not growing there will be another to occupy the soil and prevent weeds from growing in where the soil is not occupied. In selecting grasses for the meadow select varieties that flower about the same time so that they may be cured for hay at one cutting. Select those that furnish the most leaves and thus diminish the amount of woody indigestible matter in the hay. It Is folly to try to skim off a sec ond crop from the meadows. If the growth is too rank in the fall pas ture It off with young stock but do not pasture it close enough to in jure its chances of living through the winter. Nature provides for winter by pro moting a rapid fall growth. The old ideas of getting something for noth ing have been exploded for a long time and if we cut three tons of hay from our meadows we must feed them accordingly and keep the bare spots covered with grass instead of weeds. If we supply better forage rations for our live stock they will come through the winter in better condi tion and will require less grain to keep them In a thrifty condition. We, as a rule, are feeding too much grain to our animals and unless we devote more attention to providing nutritious forage rations we must ex pect less hardy and vigorous animals. COMPOSITION OF A TOMATO Handling Lambing Ewet. At lambing time a ewe desires quiet and isolation, and she should therefore be put In a pen by herself for a few days. She Is apt to do better if she Is kept by herself. Sometimes, in the case of twins, the ewe will abandon one and let It starve unless it is fed by hand. If penned by herself she is more apt to accept both offsprings. When by her self she is under better control and more easily handled. The ewe should be watched, and upon the first Indication of Inactivity and listlessness, denoting the approach of the lambing period, she should be taken from the rest of the flock and kept by herself as much as possible. The appearance of the udder and other conditions also betray the condition of the ewe. Feeds for Young Pig. Bran, milk and pasturage are tome of the bulky feeds well adapted to the real young pig. They help to distend the digestive system, which enables the pig to use cheaper and coarser feeds to better advantage than the oig raised on concentrates. Keep Cowt for Profit Keep - cows for profit not becaua you always have kept them and heal- tat to make a char- Nutriment Present In Largest Amounts It 8ugar, While Organic Acldt Give Character. The extensive use of tomatoes as an article of food has caused many in qulrles to be made as to their food value. The nutriment present In to matoes in the largest amount is sugar, while the organic acids are the main sub8tancet which give individuality or character. In tables of analysis toma toes are given as containing from 92 to 95 per cent, water, 45 per cent ash, ...IE I....(M. S.lfU ' J.... Pr Composition of Tomato. .90 to 1.00 protein, and S.80 to 4.80 per cent of carbohydrates. When the tomato It used for food. care should be taken to retain all of the lulce. as the nutrients art present largely In soluble form and any ' di minution of the amount of Juice en tn a corresponding lost of nutrients. Tn its favorable Influence upon the di gestibility of other foods, the tomato hat considerable value. . BURNER TO DESTROY STUMPS Made From Steel of Old Abandoned Food Cooker and Joint of Pipe - Cost $1.25. The rather peculiar device shown in the Illustration, herewith was made by a Vernon county, Missouri, farmer for destroying stumps, and we are In- WHEN NOT TO SWIM EVERY SWIMMER SHOULD AO QUIRE THIS KNOWLEDGE. i i i There Never It a Time When It It Safe Under Unsafe Conditions No Precautions Considered : Excessive. A Practical Stump Burner. formed that It proved much more than expected, so far as getting rid of the old stumps were concerned, says Homestead. The cost to make this stump burner was $1.25 and It was made as follows: The steel Jacket from an old abandoned food cooker was used for the lower part, and the square part for the top was bought from a local tinner, it and the Joint of pipe costing $1.25. They are both a little heavier than ordinary sheet iron. In operation, the device is placed over the stump and a fire built around same with anything that may be handy for fuel. In somo cases chips were used; in others, old rails, and in still others, pieces were split from the stumps themselves. Not only did the burner consume the entire stump in a short time, but in many cases the roots were burned out far down in the ground. A similar burner might be constructed from many things that are every year thrown In the scrap heap, and if the necessary material could not be found In the scrap heap, any tinner would build one for a small sum and your stumps would be burning while you were do ing something else. The boys would Bimply love to operate one of these burners at least until the novelty wore off, and possibly the promise of a small sum of money wjien the last stump was burned out would prolong the novelty for a sufficient time- to do the business. MAKING COMPACTOR OF SOIL Excellent Method of Constructing Im plement to Be Used In Place of Ordinary Roller. To construct a good compactor oi the' soil to use In place of a roller, use A Soli Compactor. ' three two inch planks about three feet loner and one foot wide. Nan or Don tfiA odcPB toepther like the side of a house and hitch the chain to each ena. Load it with as many large stones as a team can draw and go over the sur face. It often does better work than a regular roller. Swppn down the cobwebs they are neither ornamental or useful. whv not use the space between trees In the orchard for fall vegetables for home use? nrni't eet overheated and then drink a lot of cold water. Sip a little and wait until cooled off. cnnomoni 1 9 excellent for vines and frujt trees, and three or four ounces mav be applied to the square yara. w have no sympathy for the man or boy who has to cut stovewood on blistering days. Winter was tne time for that Job. Corn la a good crop. In spite of large crops, It has been very high for the past two years. It Is likely to be as high, or higher, next year. For pitching bundles of grain up htoh in the barn or on the stack, nothing beats a long-poled fork with short tines. You can have one made that way for this express purpose. Plow sround for late summer seed ing of alfalfa as soon as the corn is In and there Is time. Let the ground lie for a few weeks and then work It dnvn freauentlv to kill young weeds. Now Is the best time of the year to tee to It that no pools of water are allowed to form and stagnate around tha t) remises. Fight the flies and the mosquitoes and thus keep down tmhold and malaria. The dav of the old grain cradle as a farm tool hat almost gone by, and yet a good cradle It a handy thing to have. Take it tn cradling around a piece of grain It works first rate, even today. Somo of the modern cradles are very easy to twins, too. A tingle newspaper column reported recently tnlrty cases of drowning In places many miles apart, and under conditions as diverse as possible. Thev were not suicides, strictly speaking. although the moral responsibility is not greatly different In some of the cases. It is a mild statement that in more than one instance the fatality was not necessary, Many of the cases were pathetic, some surprlsirigly - so. Young women died clasped in each other's arms, playmates died trying to rescue each other, and there were one r f 1 I J A 1. falling unexpectedly Into water under conditions preventing rescue or es cape. Such a toll as this la shocking, accustomed as we are to summer Sun day drownings, the New York Timet says. : ,' '' : With V, A tA.mntnnfn. nrliA.A t la It Is idle to advise even nonswlmmers not to go into the water. Since they will do It, it is doubtful advice to learn to swim, since it is the swimmers who most frequently drown. Having taken the responsibility of advising every body to learn to swim, it is necessary to supplement It by advising . those who have learned to learn also when not to swim and dive and to enforce this advice by morals drawn from such awful examples. One young man broke his neck and drowned because he plunged head first into water which he was told was shallow. How la it possible to be truly sympathetic with such recklessness? And the Indignation with such dis- waawjI hnmnti llfo. la almUaw AVOfl when, as frequently happens, divert persist in trying the depths of strange waters with their heads instead of their feet It is not so grand to try unknown depths with a leap Instead of a dive. The difference between a sprained ankle and a broken neck measures the degrees of vanity which are behind these two methods of plunging. Boys who try to float on a board in deep water before they can swim are Just boys and can be rea soned with suitably only by their parents. ';. - . This Is only a word of advice to those who know how to swim, and ap pear to think that thereby they have a license to be foolish. There are times and conditions which even swim mers should not swim and there never Is a time when swimming is safe un der unsafe conditions. So long as wa ter will strangle there is no perfect safety in the water. So long as this Is true no precautions are excessive, whatever the skill of the swimmer. Except for show and only under con ditions where help is sure and near. Everybody should learn both how to swim and when and where not to swim. Late newspapers are almost a oerfect guide on the subject Tent Life In Town.: r la Tint iinrnmmon to see handsome rards disfigured with a tent in the middle of the lawn, u me motuer loes not wish the baby to live out- ioors all day, the boys want to piay Indian.', '-"''.. TQtejirt of the unsightly canvas bud- ititute a vine-draped tent Arrange roles in the form of a tepee and cover he outside with wire screening. Erect it In a sunny corner of your fard and around the base plant quick- rrowing annual vines, sucn as cnmD- ng nasturtiums, Japanese ui, mcumbers, morning glories ana jourds. If the tent is to De perma lent, hardy vines, as the kudzu, honey mckles, trumpet creeper or Clematio Panicul'ata, will grow from year to rear. Grape vines also make a pleas- tnt shade. Bamboo poles for any sized tepeo an he bought for $2.50 for a seven- . j 1 1 OOt aiameier IU Bevou uuiuud lyi !0-foot diameter. The wire nettfng Is sought at any hardware shop, and iasily fastened to the poles, nave an pening at one side. If necessary for rainy-day play a imall tent may be erected inside the :epee, but usually cnlidren are con- :ent with the more ornamental form. a Vguhn rue mnv ha nnrearf on the A . w - o . rround, or if dampness Is feared, there :an be a iignt wooaen noor or pia form. o Whv She Ran Awav. "My husband told me he dldnt like me any more; that's why I ran away from him; wouldn't stay around any place where I wasn't liked." said Mrs.. Jane Carr, a little white haired wom an, aged seventy-four years, from Trenton, N. J., to the police In Pitts burg. Pa. She was found wandering about the Union station and when taken to the station house refused to tell of herself, except that she had a "fly-up" at home and had left coming as tar as her money would bring her. She was cared for by a matron over night and In the morning reluctantly . . 1 n J J .4 n TT V iota uer ubuib nun auui ceo. xier nun band, she said. Is 76 years old. Ha was at once advised of his wife's whereabouts and replied that he would come to Pittsburg and take her home, Pitchers Will Be Pitchers, Wr Balfan (immersed in the nmk. fiercely) -If that pitcher would only iteiue auwui : ... Mrs. Balfan (Inexpressibly shocked) Dear me! You don't tell met la j he at wild as all that, OeorgeT iPuck,