lO 



THE FARM AND GARDEN. 



liivB Stock. 



iVIiftt fjntin ix cluap and m^al df^T(};/edthr f/rnin and 

 .tfitl. nital. When (/rain is drar, srfl grain. Talk as Uttlr of 

 hard tiiiirs an poxsihfr. Bifsincss will be ttull and {rrnin 

 tmv ax IfiUf/ as proplr s/op work and lament fuird timet. 

 Come, let lui cheer up. and )»ii.\li ahead. 



WOOL OR MUTTON? 



The low price of wool, for some time past, has 

 led many farmers to ask :— "Shall we grow wool j 

 or mutton ? At the price of wool, there is no pro ! 

 fit in it, and there must ho higher rates, or tlie I 

 production must diminisli. The question, shall ; 

 we grow mutton, is not an easy one to answer. 

 The marl<:et for mutton is increasini;, and when , 

 we gjrow as <;ood an article as our Englisli cousins 

 we shall hud a largely increased demand for it. 

 We trust the sheep-grower will look into the 

 mutton breeds of sheep to sec if he cannot find 

 more profit, to change from all wool to wool and 

 mutton. If he does, he must look over the list of 

 the Downs, and he will find some excellent 

 breeds for wool and mutton among them. 



SMALL YORKSHIRES. 



The breed of smali Yorkshires, although not of 

 large size, is one of tlie most vahialde to cross 

 with the ordinary stork in farmers (u-n-s. The 

 cross will hf far niore quiet than the common 

 hog and fatten far younger, more easily, and 

 cheaply. For a pig to make a dressed weight of 

 300 pounds (tf good, fine i)oriv at the iigc of eight 

 or ten months, we know of no better than a 

 Yorkshire cross, which will make a thrifty pig, 

 and one very easily k<-pt. They require less than 

 one-half of the feed usually required Ibr tin- com- 

 mon grade- st<H-k. Tile white color of the York- 

 shire is not esteemed l»y many, and the breed is. 

 by some, not deem 'd liardy. " We find them not 

 bony, but still vi*ry hardy and valuable for the 

 purpose we name. Uur readers will find It will 

 be a good investment to buy a Yorkshire pig 

 for use in breeding a cheaper pork, and one tak- 

 ing but little grain lo fjitten. 



APRIL PIGS. 



This Is the best month during the year for pigs 

 to come In. They should be kept in the pens, in 

 a warm and dry place, until the middle of May, 

 when they may he allowed to go into the fields of 

 grass. Pigs that come in during this month, will 

 have about nine months tor growth, and sh<»uld 

 weigh, in -lanuary, at least 2(H) pounds, though 

 they often reach heavier weights. They do best 

 when they receive the most care at first. The 

 first six weeks of a pig's existence, is the most 

 important period. If kept in good condition. 

 and not sull'erlng from cold, it gets a good start. 

 which is everything, as all farmers know that a 

 stunted pig niakes but little growth until late in 

 the season. As the weather usually opens favor- 

 ably in May, no tiiin' is lost, and when the pigs 

 are farrowed in April, they will reach an age in 

 May that permits them to be partially weaned. 

 It is not best to take them from the sow loo 

 early. If they arc Injuring her, the better plan 

 to pursue Is to feed tln-m skimmed milk, allow- 

 ing them to have access to her twice a day,— 

 morning and night— and the weaker ones may 

 be allowed to remain two weeks longer than the 

 others. liy good management from now to the 

 first of .June, the spring pigs may be made to 

 overtake the fall pigs, especially if llic latter have 

 been exposed during the winter. 



Keep young pigs dry and warm. (^Ican pens 

 and dry beds are very desirable. Dampness 

 makes mange, which stops the growth, and, as 

 Paddy said, "Tliere will be more age than pig.' 



8alt. — Stock will need salt at this season, more 

 than during tlie winter, and it is a matter 

 which should l)e looked after. Many cases of 

 hovcn in cattle or colic in horses are caused by a 

 deficiency of a supply of salt. 



FEEDixfi BoxE Meal.— A small quantity of.; 

 clean bone meal, fed to pregnant animals, will be 

 highly relished. Otfer it tc» your cows, and you 

 may notice that they will eat it readily. It fills a 

 desirable want, and slionld always be placed 

 where they can have access to it if not given 

 otherwise. 



The Water Supplt.- If there is no running 

 water, a windmill should be used for filling a 

 large tank, to which connections may be made in 

 such a manner as to conduct water to the barn or 

 even to the fields. This will be found a cheap 

 method, which will keep up the supply of water, 

 if the well is a good one, and save considerable 

 labor. 



The Shoes.— Take off the disagreeable rough I 

 shoes that have served their purpose during llie 

 winter, and replace them with others. For horses 

 that are to work on soft ground, there is no neces- 

 sity for using heavy shoes, which add weight to 

 the feet without corresponding benefit; but on 

 hard stony roads the shoes should be hard and 

 good, but not to<» heavy. 



Dkoppings in the Pastt'KE.— It will be a sav- 

 ing to send a cart to the pasture and collect the 

 droppings, especially if you wish to avoid those 

 unsighily tusso<'ks which give an uneven appear- 

 ance to the pasture. If a i>asture is to lie man- 

 ured, it should he done evenly, and for that 

 reason all droppings should be collected and 

 placed in the barn-yard. 



Ci'T Food.— .\lthough we have always recom- 

 mended passimr the long food through a cutter. 

 vet. we di> ni>t think it a safe method unless the 

 liay is free from weeds, as the stock will separate 

 the -rood from that which is bad. When tliuly 

 cut. however, the whole is calen. Straw, corn- 

 fodder, and good, clean ha.v should be cut, but 

 the poorer articles should Jie fed in an entire 

 condition. 



vV country editor we know who keeps a fine 

 horse and who Is a g<»od Judge itf horseflesh. 

 gives as his plan of feeding a horse. "Kicpall 

 feed-boxes sweet and dean. Cut ab<iut ten 

 pounds of hay, free I'rom dust, and put it in a 

 light, clean box. Pour over it enough hot water 

 to wet it, then put In three or four quarts of 

 finely-ground oals and corn, and stir well ; a little 

 salt inav be sometimes added. When cool 

 feed. 



The B.vrx-yakd.— This should be thoroughly 

 cleaned out every spring, liy hauling away every 

 (mnce of manure. Befi»re accumulating a new 

 heap, haul plenty of dry dirt into the yard, and 

 spread It thickly as an abs.ubent. It will not 

 only serve as a disinfectant, but will assist mater- 

 ially in arresting mudi of the soluble ingredients 

 that are usually l»»sl f<ir want of such material as 

 fine earth. Althtuigh the dirt itself may not 

 possess manurial value, yet, every load of it 

 which may be placed in the barn-yard, will be- 

 come valuable bei'ore the season is over by virtue 

 of its absorbent qualities. 



EXPERIENCE WITH STEAMED FOOD. 



In conversation with a dairyman, who has 

 given steamed food to stock during the seas(m, 

 we arc informed that in comparison with dry 

 food there was a saving of one-third the quantity 

 of the tood required, while the yield of milk wjis 

 nearly dt)ublo. In addition to the saving in food 

 and increase in yield, the cows average a gain In 

 flesh of 175 pounds, the herd numbering fifty. 

 This refutes the claim on the part of many, that 

 it does not pay to steam the food owing to the cost 

 of labor and "fuel. The food was not thoroughly 

 cooked, but heated by the steam until the mass 

 of cut hay wassoftened and thoroughly warmed. 

 The bran, meal and other concentmled material 

 was mixed with the hay, and the whole steamed 

 at one operation. The extra cost was about $'S) 

 for fuel, and S50 for labor, the cost per cow being 

 about SI. 51.1. The increase in weight of the animals, 

 (175 pounds each) was 87-50 pounds, which at only 

 five cents a pound, is $4.'J7.5u, or six times as mu<-h 

 as the cost of labor and fuel, while the saving of 

 one-third of the food, an^ largely increasing "the 

 yield, carries the profit to a considerable sum. 

 Only one extra help was necessary, and the boiler 

 to warm the quarters also, it being at one end of 

 the building. The gain is attributed to the food 

 being rendered more easily digested, and being 

 fed warm tlie animals do not suft'er at any time 

 from cold, or lack of comfort. 



STOCK NOTES. 



Does your wife, daughter, or hired girl do the 

 milking? If so, we say keep the barn-yard well 

 littered and clean. Have a good gate at the yard, 

 and a nice, clean walk to it. 



Lambs.— Feed them well from the start and 

 market them as soon as possible. April is rather 

 late for laml)s, and we would remind our readers 

 that as the early lambs niake the early mothers, 

 there is no advantage in retaining any that are 

 dropped this months I^et theni go t« market- 

 ewes and rams— thereby gradually increasing, 

 not only the prf>lificacy of the flock, but aJso 

 inducing early maturity. 



Salt is valuable for stock of all kinds. Every 

 farmer should buy a lump of rock salt, which 

 usually costs about 5t» cents per hundred pounds, 

 and put it where all stock can have access to it. 

 We have seen cattle stand by such lumps and 

 lick them for hours. They seemed to en^oy it so 

 much, that we were repaid the cost of it in being 

 able to give then\ so much contented enjoyment. 

 Do not forget when you are in town to get the 

 rock salt. 



In keeping a hor.se fat, there is as much in the 

 driver as in the feed. A horse well curried and 

 rubbed with a woolen rag afterward, is sure to 

 make a sleek-coated horse, and when well 

 giHiomed is, we may say, half fed. A cross and 

 nervouj driver will fill the horse with fear and 

 dre'id. and will rapidly run him down. Use 

 any animal kindly. Always be firm and make 

 it iiiind, but never get excited. A cool-headed 

 driver niakes a long-headed horse. 



Cleaning the Stalls.— Now that the warm 

 season is approaching, there will at times be dis- 

 iigreeable odors in the stables, wiiich should 

 never be allowed where good milk and butter are 

 desired. One of the best safe-guards is to clean 

 the stalls thoroughly every day, and sprinkle 

 the floors with a lewhandfuls of dry, fine plaster, 

 which will absorb the ga.ses and also increase the 

 value of the manure, as it has a ^reat affinity for 

 ammonia, completely arresting its escape, there- 

 by preventing loss. 



The Work Horses.— Stop the corn ration as 

 soon ivs the sciuson l)ecomes warm, substitute 

 oats, and more work wil". be performed. Fat is 

 not desirable in a work-horse, but he should have 

 all the muscle-producing food he can eat. Corn 

 is loo heating, causing profuse sweating, thereby 

 weakening the animal. If the horses are allowed 

 up<»n the pasture during a few leisure hours of 

 rest, be careful to add a small quantity of salt to 

 their food when they are taken to the stalls and 

 do not permit them t»)eat ttuiniuch youngclover 

 at one time. 



The Straw.— The majority of farmers are of 

 the ojiinion tliat when using straw for bedding, 

 it assists in niakii.g manure when uu longer 

 reiiuired in the stalls. This is true, but straw is 

 a very tough material and does not easily decom- 

 pose. Its imler coating is composed of a hard, 

 silicious snbstan<'e. insoluble in water, and not 

 acted upon by many chemicals. To get the best 

 results, it is best to use only cut straw as bedding, 

 which renders it fine, thereby more intimately 

 mingling it with the manure, and causing decom- 

 position more readily. Such manure will also be 

 bandied with greater facility, wliile the straw so 

 prepared, makes better bedding and serves as a 

 sujierior absorbent. 



(JRINDING CoRNC'oii.s.— There is some dispute 

 jis to the value of the cob as tood. The cob really 

 possesses a certain proportion of nutritive 

 substance, but in an insoluble or indigestible 

 condition. It is rich in potash, and contains, 

 also, lime, magnesia, soda, and other matter, all 

 of which are appropriated as food. In recent 

 experiments made, it was demonstrated that 

 where the grain and t'ob w^re ground together to 

 a vn-)i fine condition, and the meal so made, 

 mixed with coarse food and steamed, the result 

 was more satislaetory than when the same quan- 

 iity of corn was fed without the cob. We believe 

 the cob can be made available, and trust our 

 readers will experiment with it. 



Chester While. Berk- PTflC! 

 shire and Potand China i -l.\XO, 



I Flni'^i-tU-rl»oe«. -^.-ot.-h <'<iII1ch. 



I Fo\ IIoiiikUiiikI l{i-asli-pt. ^heep 



_ ' aii.l I'millrv. 't-.I rtnd li.r salt; bj- 



t^W. GIBBON^ & CO.. Westchester. 

 Send Stamp lor Circular and Price List. 



X'ppQLaneslmn, Wvandntte,R.C.BXeghnrn.Pekin, 

 Xj\J\JO Huck, aud other leadine varipiies. ?1.35 per 13. 

 B. Tiirkev. *.i.l>^ per 13. J. <;. FISHER. Smrilon. Dt-l. 



KcM..!.^'?. GUERNSEYS AND JERSEYS. 



Al-i.i TIIOK(»rOH KK ED!S ANI) «;RAnES. 

 YoHllK Stork (it sale. Scnci stamp fin- fntnlntfiie. 

 T. WALTER &.- SONS. WEST CHESTEK. Pn. 



REGISTERED SWINE 



Tli-.muu'h Nrtvi Che8ter Whiten. Po- 



land'C'hInam & Imported Berkshlrefl 



True pedlj|ree ?i"'tJ » nh <>M-rv Knimal fold. StroDR, healthy 

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Headquarters for all articles need by 

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 celebrated horwes, 200subject!*; Veterinary 

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 Ijv horsr-men mailed free. 

 a. H. TUTTLE.TS Nassau iit.,X.Y 



'2806Lbs.Wg't| 



of two OHIO IMPROVED 

 ^CHESTER HOCS! 



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JERSEY 



CATTLE.BIM. ( AI.F 

 rNKE<iISTEREI> IIEIIEU. 



Addreil I. P. WHCtLtR. Qulncy. III. 



ICDCCVC FRUITVALiB FAK.M. I |CDCCV 

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REDS. lF^A^M°EI{.^v.vy,•^^:l; I cattle 



Alortimer \\ hiteliend, Mlddlebuih, New Jertn. 



25 



YEARS IN THE 



POULTRY YARD. 



It^tii Edition. 108 PageB, explain- 

 ing.' ihe entire business. Gives 

 symptoms and beat remedies (or 

 all diseases. A Sd-iiaLre Illustrated 

 Catalogue. All for2r.r. in stamps. 



A. M. LANG. 

 Cove Dale. Lewis Co. Ky. 



PRESTON'S miOTTE EJZETTE, 



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 Handsome larir*" HI list rn led ("irnilar Iree. 

 GEO. A. PRESTON. Biti«haniptou, New York. 



DO YOU OWN A HORSE? 



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 and hl« Tkliicaiieii." Fully 

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 pal drueH us.d for tht' hurae, 

 with the ordinary dose* 

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 a pnisdii : a tuiilc Willi iin en- 

 icravlne "T "" h o rse *« 

 teeth ;" dlfTopcnt aeeM* 

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 nilloi-tion ot i-pcclptM. »nd 

 much other DSeftol Infnpmntfon. TlunisandH who hii\.' sen iha 

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rRtNKUN NEWS CO.. PHIUOELPHIk. PENN*. 



