Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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PLAN FOR MORE ECOf A Fine Herd o <By R. O. WEATMER8TONE.) la all sections where dairying is being conducted cattle foods are each year becoming more costly and every dairyman should make every effort to reduce the cost of his cow feeds. Instead of feeding hay that is worth fifteen dollars a ton he should replace a large portion of it with ensilage, which can be raised chiefly by machine labor. Instead of supplementing a poor pasture with purchased grain foods he should raise oats and peas, green corn and other green soiling crops. Instead of buying fattening foods like corn meal he should buy milkproducinK foods like bran cottonseed meal and gluten meal. As a rule it Is most profitable to buy the kind that will produce the most protein at the least cost. Make the business as self-supporting aB possible by raising as much of the feed for the dairy as your farm and circumstances will allow. Many of the failures In dairying are due to the fact that farmers disregard these points aud go out and buy grain foods without discriminating judgment. To keep good cows and feed them good, wholesome food in abundance and provide this food cheaply is absolutely necessary if we make a substantial profit from the business. There is no rule for feeding dairy cows that can be laid down, that will apply to all cowb alike; and still the success of the herd will depend largely ly upon procuring the best producb tion at the lowest cost from each cow. B Cows should be fed to their capac I-? ' many feeders do not seem to realize \ what we mean when we speak of a 'lot?. _ y cum h capacity. We should study our cows closely. Watch their feed boxes to see that they clean up all of their feed and GIVE BROOD SOW ATTENTION As Farrowing Time Approaches Animal Should Be Placed in Separate, Roomy, Clean Pen. (By J. FUI.LER.) Healthy sows that have been properly cared for during pregnancy will have little difficulty at farrowing time. They should be housed in proper quarters and up to farrowing time have their usual feed. Knowing the date the sow was bred, the date she is due to farrow can be determined easily. The period of gestation for swine ranges from 112 to 116 days. As farrowing time approaches, the I sow should be put into a clean, roomy pen in a hog house or into a separate portable pen. When the udder of the sow becomes distended and milk can be drawn from the teats, she may be expected to farrow in about 24 hours. She should be watched closely now to see that l.er bowels are operating in the proper manner and that she may be comfortable. At this time a slon ration is better than a dry feed. k? ii ' ' -* 'J?'*??" Fencing In the Feed Lot?Portable Fences are Almost Indispensable in the Hog Lot. The farrowing pen should be supplied with fresh, dry, clean and duslless bedding. Fine rye, wheat or oat straw or shredded corn fodder makes excellent bedding, but barley straw and wood shavings should not be used. Dusty beds are likely to cause coughing or pneumonia. Individual sows differ as to the amount of bedding needed at farrowing. Some make 1 bad use of it and should be given but tmue; omers can ue allowed a liberal supply. Little pigs are very sensitive to the cold and if they arrive during the cold weather they must be given V special attention to prevent thein from getting chilled. A sow should be kept quiet and fed very little during the first 24 hours after farrowing. She should be allowed drinking water, and when she hows signs of hunger a limited amount of a thick slop ration, largely of bran, may be given her. TIiIb will satisfy her appetite, and keep her digestive tract open and iu the proper oondltion. Now, it is much better to , iOMICAL COW FEED f Dalrv Cowi. ! 1 \ have a keen appetite for their next I feeding. Watch their droppings to see that no food passes through them l undigested. 1 Watch results closely from any 3 new line of feeding that may be in- 11 troduced. Never make too sudden or ' radical a change in the line of feed- i ing practiced. Treat the cows kindly, i feed them regularly, milk them at regular hcurs and, if possible, always have the same person milk them. i In increasing grain ration we i should never increase It more than , one-half pound a day. In this way ' the cow's digestive organs have an | opportunity to become adjusted to the change and are able to take care j of the additional amount of feed. In 1 this way you can safely increase her feed until she is obtaining all that she can economically handle. Care must be exercised that we do : not feed so much grain food that there I is no room or appetite left for coarse i fodders. Coarse fodders are highly essential ] in preserving the health of the cow ( and not tending toward muking fat. As a geueral proposition it will be j found a safe rule to follow to feed j twice as many pounds of hay as we i do grain. The cow that is being fed ' eight pounds of grain a day should i have sixteen pounds of good hay. If ensilage is being fed we must | count tnree or lour pounds or tnat | equal to one pound of hay or dry i fodder. Methods of preserving ensilage are better understood and the prejudice , against milk and butter from cows sm i barns are the making of maximum . yields in winter practicable, and this coupled with higher prices for milk and its products makes it more profitable for us to practice all-the-yeararound dairying. keep her hungry than to overfeed her. In fact, the only way to keep early spring pigs from growing too rapidly and becoming too fat when the sows i are confined is to feed the sows spar | ingly. Under ordinary conditions when sows and pigs are given plenty of exercise, the feed may be gradually increased until from ten days to two weeks after farrowing a liberal feeding of a heavy ration is being given. When the pigs are from four to six weeks old they will begin to eat with j the sows. They should be fed Creep for Feeding Small Pigs?Lit*U Ol ?? - ? - ? i i.c nUB Dcgm to i-at at From Three I to Four Weeks of Age and Should be | | Provided With a Separate Enclosure ! I From the Sows. separately b> penning off a small space on the feeding floor or hog lot where the young pigs have access to the feed. The feed should be given in a small trough which can be j cleaned easily before each feeding. Immature Breeding. Ity breeding the heifer at less than two years of age you are sure of get- ' ting her to producing something at an early age, but you are also sure that she has been stunted before she reached maturity; that her calf will not be as large and vigorous as it 1 should be and that she cannot possibly produce as much milk as she would 1 had she been bred at a period when 1 her capacity for production was 1 nearer perfect development. Impure water will not produce many ? eggs of any kind, and none that are good. t r If a ewe Is constipated put her in A the hospital pen and give her more lin- c seed meal. I If a sheep has snuffles it is a sure c sign of exposure or mismanagement t somewhere. li The fertilizer problem is getting to 0 he a big one and could be greatly re- y duced by keeping more stock and sell- a ing less hay and straw. LIVE-STOCK-FRUIT DAIRTINO-OARDE New Wrinkles F A F AN! Progressive Agriculture FIE TOLD IN AN INTERESTING MANNER EED FOR THE DRAFT FOALS V 'oungster Makes One-Half His Mature ^ Weight First Year of His Life? Ration From Wisconsin. The feedinc of draft foals is a very ; mportant matter. One only appre- j f> iates this when he realizes the fact i h hat a draft foal makes one-half his , n nature weight the first year of his j h ife. The foal must be fed, not &tarved, | v f he is to develop into a good draft j t lorse. The foal fed an improper and , a jnpalatahle ration the first winter i h isually has a big middle and two very K joorly developed ends. t Considerable attention has been f ;iven to feeding draft foals at the s University of Wisconsin the last few c pears. At one year of age they have j s weighed from 1,000 to 1,200 pounds. ; rhese foals were "all accustomed to a I ?mall amount of grain before five j months of age when they were weaned. , After weaning they were given the J following ration until turned on grass , at about thirteen months of age. j Ration for 100 pounds mixed feed: i 65 pounds crushed oats, 15 pounds ! corn meal, 10 pounds bran, 15 pounds finely cut alfalfa or clover. j They were fed all of this mixture they would eat three times a day ; and were given no hay other than that I in the mixture until they were about one year old. The amount of this mixture eaten per foal per day varied 1 from 9 to 15 pounds (20 to 30 quartsi Fine Type of Draft Stsdlion. fi^corain^t^ageT^Muchofthetin^^ the feed was dampened and thoroughly mixed before feeding. The afivantag^s of the damp mixture seemea to be the variety of wholesome feec and the relish with which it was slowly and thoroughly chewed. Where one cannot feed so varied a ; mixture as that described, a. ration of , 20 per cent bran, cut alfalfa or cut clover with 80 per cent errshed oats fed as described will prove very effec- I tive. Foals do not appear to be able j to make as good use of whole oats and : hay as an older horse. When fed ' those feeds separately and whole they j eat less feed and have a greater tendency to pot belly." It is a practice of some successful i Wisconsin breeders to feed liberally j bran and crushed oats for grain three j times per day and hay and sorghum < 1 stalks each once per day for roughage. Combinations such as marsh hay and corn should be avoided. Although corn | silage can be fed to idle horses it should only be given in a very limited way or not at all to foals. One cannot economize by limited ; feeding of the foal. What one saves in feed the first year he sacrifices j from five to ten times in the final \ value of the animals. Only well bred ! draft foals are capable of making 1.000 | pounds at one year and developing I into a good draft horse. It generally j does not pay to practice liberal feed- j ing with mongrel or scrub animals J for there is but little margin between | the final value of the animal and the cost of feed consumed. PICKED UP IN THE HOG LOT' Overcrowding Is Anything but Economical Plan?Alfalfa Furnishes Excellent Grazing for Pigs. Do not keep too many pigs together ' ind compel them to sleep in one nest. I I The most economical gains in pig j f feeding are obtained by a judicious alending of nitrogenous and carbo- | fl nuceous foods. i d Crossing may improve the hogs for 1 :he feed lot alone, but not for the pur- i pose of perpetuating their kind. Every hog grower should make a ?reat effort to have a few acres of al- v 'alfa. because it furnishes unusually i 1 .aluable grazing for hogs, and can La v matured off several times during the ? teason. 1 There is nothing more disgusting R han to have a lot of unruly hogs run- ? ling at large about the farm buildings. 1 iVith modern woven wire fence, it is n asy to confine them within their e iroper limits. There is nothing gained by mixing orn meal with chopped alfalfa, except ^ o insure larger consumption. The longer any herd or family of logs is subjected to a ration of corn r confined to Bmall pens and barren a| ards the lower will be their vitality nd prolificacy. 01 A -I ?? r RMS-FIELD CROPS-SILOS-FIGS IM i ^ Farmers' Ij Business ^ Profitable EXPRESSLY FOR OUR READERS ! l/INTER WORK IN ORCHARDS /hen Ground lo Frozen Is Favorable Time for Hauling and Spreading Manure?Add Bone Meal. The winter when the ground Is rozen hard is a favorable season for auling out with cart or sled the maure needed. In spring the ground ! 3 too soft to haul over and other irork is too pressing; the result is his Important matter is put off for Jj nother year. The manure should be tauled and spread evenly over the i 8 ;ro\ind. Do not place directly around j E he trunks; it onlv affnrrlH n hnrhnr ! or mice and insectB. The manure hould be rotted and from grain-fed :attle or horses. Straw and corn[talks, mixed with a little animal mar ^ lure, is poor stuff and Is only valuable is a mulch. This kind of manure ' should be hauled out to the orchard j md piled. Mix a half-bushel of raw ^ aone meal in each two-horse wagon oad of manure as it is piled and make ( x compact heap, which will soon rot j down, and, when well rotted, should bo spread. About one to two bushels | Is the proper quantity tor each large tree. The manure should be spread ( in a circle as far out as the branches extend. Practical growers are aow using from 400 to 800 pounds of animal bone and potash fertilizer per acre. The fertilizer is drilled in with rye in tha early fall, the rye is turned under in April?for green manure. This *netn- | od is found to be the cheapest and best method of fertilizing the orchard. SPRAY FOR SAN JOSE SCALE Best Remedy for Pest Is Thorough Treatment With Lime-Sulphur Mixture Late in Winter. i By C. P. OII.T.ETTE. Colorado Experiment Station.) San Jose scale is one of ..he worst [ pests attacking qrchard trees in thi3 country. It is Extremely important that orchards shoAild be so treated as to axterminate tfte scale from them and prevent its spread to surrounding thte scale is a thorough treatment with lime-sulphur mixture late in the winter or early %i the spring, before the buds begin ti^ open on the trees. If the commercial concentrated limesulphur mixtures are used they may j be diluted in the- proportion of about1 one part of the concentrated preparation to ten parts of water. If home- ' made lime-sulphur sprays are used, 1 probably there is no better formula than the following: Good lump lime, 15 pounds; Flowers of sulphur, 15 pounds; Water, 50 gallons. The lime should be slaked in warm ! water and, as soon as the slaking has been well started, the sulphur should be added and enough water kept in the receptacle to keep the mass thin ! and sloppy. Boil for at least forty- ; 'reparing Mixture for San Jose Scale. r ive minutes, or until the liquid is a leep brick red in color; then dilute o tirty gallons and apply at once. Protect Grapes From Mildew. To protect grapes from mildew khioh may or may not attack them ; , hey should be dusted or sprayed ( " /ith sulphur. For a few vines or the amily vineyard a good way is to put | ? he sulphur in a piece of burlap or a rain hag and shake the sulphur over | ' he vines. A sprayer which will J 1 orce the sulphur among the leaves | ? lore completely is of course more ffective. R fi Fruit for Home Use. ^ In pruning fruit trees for home use it there be no varieties of inferior uallty selected. There Is nothing too ood for the home use. It is a pleas- 8 re to hunt out these good things c ad to take an interest in getting d ?em started in the Jlome garden and rcharl. f * il ' CAUSES OF MANY F/ SjHpijWjMSjWt k?5^> A Badly Mixed, B Every failure In the poultry busi- ' ess can be traced, according to James f. Halpin, poultry man at the Wlscon- j In F\?l 1q??^ /\f A ~^.. 1 .. ? ? ? ~ ' u v/v??^bo wi /\f,I 1V/UILU1 C, IU UUO UI nore of the fallowing reasons: 1. Too expensive and too impractical tuildings. Flocks do not require costy equipment, an<fc of course the poulry man must pay Interest on his invest ment. 2. Lack of experience and failure to aise chicks properly. Many a man has umped into the poultry business with ittle or no experience, and naturally i las lost money in his plunging. 3. Failure to market right. To proiuce a superior product is not enough, t must be advantageously marketed. 4. Starting with poor stock. It costs little or no more to start with profitproducing stock than it does with in- ! ferior fowls. 5. Neglect in Improving breeding stock. Hy carefully selecting the hens and mating them with well chosen males more improvement will be secured. 6. Neglect in cleaning. Filth is a certain cause of loss to the poultry man. 7. Neglct in fighting lice and mites. These pests are a source of heavy loss to all who do not fight them. F. Poor management. Like every other business, poultry raising requires close attention to details. Should Go Stow. The more common cause of failure is too heavy investment. Many farmers start with expensive buildings as soon as they get the "hen fever." They run into debt, become discouraged after a few mistakes, and quit the business. It is wiser to patch up the old poultry house and make improvements gradually as your profits war rant the expenditure. All amateur poultry man should go slow and build up The next most common cause of failure is lack of experience. No one should enter the poultry business offhand without any experience in raising chicks. He should serve an apprenticeship on some poultry farm, or TEACHING CHICKS TO ROOST Difficult Matter to Keep Little Fellows Clean if They Are Permitted to Remain on Floor. It is often advisable to teach the chicks to roost when eight to twelve weeks old. When they are allowed to remain on the floor it is difficult to keep them clean and to keep them from crowding. If wide roosts, three to four inches, are used there is but little, if any. more danger of crooked breasts than if the chicks are allowed to remain on the floor. The chicks can generally be taught to roost by putting the perches near the floor and placing with them one or two old hens or older chicks that are in the habit of roosting. If this plan is inconvenient or does not prove effective, the chicks may be placed on the perches after dark for a few nights until they have learned to go there on their own accord. FOWLS DEMAND PROPER FOOD Green Feed, Meat Scraps, Grain and Lime Are Required?Fresh Water Is Also Necessary. amx) mg iit-ns, iiKe tne milch cow, defiant] proper food. A mixed ration i comprising green feed, meat scrap and 1 jrain. will, with the addition of lime : n some form, supply .til that is re- j luired. Fresh water is also a necesiity. Chaff from ahalfa or clover afords green food. The former, ground eady for use, may now be bought by | he pound. Hens eat it readily. Being ich in protein it is better for laying owls than most forms of green food, md makes necessary less meat in the ation. Color Affects Price. The color of eggs has something to lo with their sale in most markets, lome prefer the brown tints and some he white. In preparing baskets for ale it is well to cater to these tastes. Jut all browns in one basket, all whites in another. Paper cartons for ransportation, holding one dozen ggs, can be had at paper dealers*. Irown shelled eggs are apt to be large, Jnoo m r\a nf 1 * ...v^ ...??> u. uir laigei ureeaB or owls lay colored eggs. Color really as nothing to do with contents. Well-Fed Hen Pays. Are you going to allow the price of rain to cause you to underfeed your hickens? Better sell them now. It oes not take a half-starved hen long o eat her head off. The well-fed hen ! Mil lay enough eggs to more than ; ay h*r keep. I ( Y ?, JLURES IN POULTRY | jA|^ui|9nMjS|M9iHK^ k^Rg^A ^HRv W|^HfV HV ut Busy Family. if he can, and before he starts out for himself, he should take a course at some recognized poultry school. After he has learned the ways oi the flock he may have some assurance of success. But many mistakes and failures are sure to beset the path of the Inexperienced. Many poultry men fail to market correctly. They either get too far away from the market or try to force themselves upon an overcrowded market. And they often fail to put their goods up in attractive packages and do not advertise efficiently. A good understanding of the market conditions of a given locality is essential in building up a trade there. It is absolutely essential to have I good stock to start with. No poultry | man need expect to have any success if he starts out with a flock of boarders. The stock need not be pure bred, but it must be good enough to more than pay for its keep. The flock must be improved by careful selection and by the introduction of new strains when necessary. Each brood of chicks must be better than the last if the poultry business Is to be a success. The boarders and the stragglers must be culled out Constant improvement is the surest road to success. A very common cause of failure is just plain neglect?neglect in cleaning up the house: neglect in spraying and in fighting lice and mites. There is no excuse for this kind of failure. The poultry man should be continually on guard against insects and diseases. And above all, he must always keep his house and his birds clean. All of these causes of failure may be summed up in one word. And that word is "Mismanagement" The three great laws of success in poultry may be summed up as follows: Get some Improve your stock. And keep clean ' I" _th? ilme The on,y cure for mi? I management is common sense, and the ' farmer who expects to make a suc| cess out of poultry should keep a good I stock of it with him. ! COMFORT FOR SETTING HEN I Should Be Guarded Against Fussy Work of Laying Fowls?Plan for Arranging the Nest. In setting a hen well one must see that every surrounding is the best pos1 sible. That the nest is not too deep and rounding in the bottom, but nearly flat, with rounded sides so that the eggs will lie in a single layer and not pile upon each other in a manner that is more than likely to cause them to get broken. In cold weather it is a good plan to line the nest box first with paper, then the nesting straw or chaff. This pro, vents the cold from getting to the eggs | so easily from below. It is essential that the setter be j guarded against the fussy work of the laying hens. A laying hen using the 1 same nest will soon break up all possibility of a good hatch. On the other hand, the setter must not be confined so closely that she ; cannot come off at will to feed and dust herself. USE ONLY GOOD INCUBATORS t I Many Little Details Require Skill and Intelligence ill Operating M? Y chine Successfully. Homemade incubators are not generally desirable, since they are seldom scientifically adjusted, nor made of best material, nor properly fitted up. The lamp, its burner, its wick, its chimney, its location for heating, all require skill and intelligence. So does the body of the incubator, as regulator. ventilation, the moisture supplies and the tray. Do not buy from any old firm or buy any discarded machine. Get the best by test and give it the best that is in you. Then keep a record of hatches from both hens and incubator and compare results, not forgetting that your hen is free to lay again while her first eggs are hatching. Legs of Birds for Show. If show birds have rough legs, bandage them in cloths spread with vaseline, for a week before the show? washing them first, of course. Tha vooo1(t?A l*""***"" " * ~ * .?>c..?c iraves a siam on the feath* era which is hard to get out in the wash, so be careful to push the feath* crs back and bandage under them. Onions for Poultry. Onions make an excellent feed and, chopped fine and fed to the poultry oc* castonally during the winter, will ma* terially help to keep them In good condition.