TALKS WITH PRACTICAL IRRIGATORS. 



commercial fertilizers, or of barnyard manure, if its 

 cost be proportionate to that of the chemical constit- 

 uents of fertility found in commercial fertilizers, is a 

 hopeless undertaking, unless these crops be grown in 

 a systematic rotation with clover or a similar nitrogen- 

 storing crop. The poorer the soil in natural fer- 

 tility the smaller the probability of profitable crop 

 production by means of artificial fertilizers.'' 



enter now so largely into the manufacture of wind- 

 mills, that a farmer may regard it almost as a perma- 

 nent investment the money he expends for a windmill. 



Winter Irrigation. The importance and value 

 of irrigation in the fall, winter and spring are becom- 

 ing more and more apparent to farmers, especially in 

 the warmer portions ot the country and on the Great 

 Plains. A farmer in southern New Mexico says: 

 " It cannot be too earnestly impressed upon the 

 farmers of the far West that the more irrigation ac- 

 complished before the warm weather comes, the bet- 

 ter will be the results of the year's cropping. In 

 those regions where a wet winter has prevailed a suc- 

 cessful crop will invariably follow, but as many sec- 

 tions have but little rain or snow fall during the win- 

 ter, it is the more important that the ground should 

 be thoroughly saturated in the spring. It is then in 

 condition to respond to the surface water promptly, 

 and will absorb a very much larger proportion of the 

 water put upon it during the warm weather. The 

 evaporation, owing to the winds, will be less and the 

 plant will make more root, and consequently have 

 more vitality. Especially should the alfalfa fields 

 have earlv and thorough watering. The rapid 

 growth of the first crop and its consequent thrift at 

 the time of cutting will have its influence on all the 

 subsequent crops of the year." 



In many localities fall and winter irrigation of vari- 

 ous fruits have been productive of most satisfactory 

 results. Again, there are localities where irrigation 

 in the late fall and winter has totally destroyed 

 alfalfa fields. We should be glad to have the expe- 

 riences of practical irrigators along these lines for 

 publication in this department of THE AGE. 



Wind Power. A universal source of power 

 which is often neglected, is that of the wind. Every 

 farmer, however small his acreage, should have one 

 or more good windmills. Windmill power is proba- 

 bly the cheapest and most readily avail.'ible of any 

 within reach of the farmer, for the lighter work 

 about a farm, to which it mav be adapted. Pumping 

 water for stock or for irrigation by wind power has 

 become almost a necessity in many parts of the 

 country, and if proper appliances are added, the 

 windmill may be most profitably used for grinding 

 feed, for elevating hay and other produce to storage 

 quarters in the barn, and for many other purposes. 

 With adequate reservoirs or tankage, it is surprising 

 how much water may be stored for irrigation by 

 means of pumps worked by wind power. Elsewhere 

 something has been said about the probabilities of 

 utilizing a fraction of the present year's wheat crop as 

 feed for stock. To get the best results from such 

 feeding, the grain should be ground, even if but 

 coarsely. There are few farms anywhere that can- 

 not command sufficient wind-power to grind a con- 

 siderable ration of grain each day, but by means of 

 storage bins, which can be filled at favorable times. 

 a good supply of ground feed may be kept on hand. 

 Most of the best mills are now to be had at reason- 

 able prices, which are much below the cost of less 

 efficient machines a few years ago. Iron and steel 



To Prevent Hog Cholera. One of the expen- 

 sive drawbacks to the breeding of swine on a large 

 scale in most parts of the country is hog cholera, 

 which reduces the profits very materially at times. 

 A great many remedies have been prescribed, but 

 we believe none has yet proven itself infallible. A 

 comparatively cheap and simple remedy for this 

 terrible disease is given by an Iowa farmer, who 

 alleges that though thoroughly tested for a number 

 of years, it has never failed to prevent or cure the 

 disease. 



REMEDY FOR HOG CHOLERA. 



" To six quarts of air-slacked lime add one quart 

 each of powdered sulphur and common salt. Stir 

 well together and place in a long trough in a dry 

 place where the hogs can have free access to it. 

 Keep such a mixture in the trough throughout the 

 season and the hogs will not have cholera." 



In using this mixture in any large quantity it 

 will be found much cheaper to buy the sulphur by 

 the barrel, in which case it will come quite cheap. 

 Whether this remedy shall prove wholly efficacious or 

 not, the cost of experimenting with it would be light, 

 and no harm could result from giving it a trial. It 

 is quite probable, indeed, that hogs would be the 

 better for such treatment, whether or not cholera be 

 among them. 



The Hay Crop. The area under hay in the 

 United Kingdom is given at 8,600,000 acres, and the 

 yield for this season is estimated at 13,000,000 tons, 

 or, say, a ton and a half per acre. Last year the yield 

 was but little over a ton per acre, and large importa- 

 tions from this country followed the short crop in 

 England. Prices ruled high last season, and were 

 quoted as high as $38 per ton. Figures covering 

 some nine years show the average crop of English 

 hay to be nearly one and one-half tons per acre, which 

 is a little above the reported average yield of the 

 United States. Last year 49,613,469 acres were de- 

 voted to hay in this country, and the yield was author- 

 itatively placed at 65,766,158 tons, valued at $570,- 

 882,872. Next to corn, hay was last year the most 

 valuable crop produced in the United States when 

 considered as a whole, while if regarded in the light 

 of its per acre value, it exceeds that of the corn crop 

 by more than forty per cent. Its aggregate value 

 was morethan two and one-half times that of the wheat 

 crop, and its per acre value more than eighty per 

 cent, greater than wheat. 



Unseasonable weather during the past summer cut 

 down the yield of hay considerably, so that the ex- 

 port trade in this farm product is not likely to reach 

 the magnitude of last season. For the year ending 

 with June last, the exports of hay from the United 

 States reached 54,431 tons, valued at $890,503 against 

 33,084 tons, valued at $519,640, for the preceding year. 

 Although these exports are regarded large, it will be 

 seen that after all the quantity sent out of the coun- 

 try was really insignificant compared with the entire 

 product of hay in the United States. 



Sugar Beet Pulp for Stock. The great value 

 of sugar beet pulp as a food for stock has been quite 

 fully tested by Mr. Richard Gird, of Chino, Cal., and 

 he finds the results most gratifying. His experience 



