TlIK GENESEE FARMER. 



367 



FARM WORK FOR DECEMBER. 



The liiliors of tlie .^easoii liavinji been devote*! 

 ;o tlie raising of crops, the period of llieir con- 

 iutnptioii lias now arrived. As it is important, on 

 ihe score of economy, to raise heavy crops, so it is 

 iquully ini[)ortant now to study the ni()st economi- 

 jal modes of feeding. 1. The first point of econ- 

 jniy is to prevent loss by good and comfortable 

 shelter. Exposure to freezing winds not only in- 

 jures the growth and thrift of animals, but requires 

 i greater amount of t\)od to maintain animal heat. 

 Sometimes the loss of animals, by dea h alone, 

 toward spring, is greater than the cost of ample 

 ;lieluer. 2. The second is to feed regularly, that no 

 loss of flesh may be occasioned by impatient fret- 

 ting. 3. The third is to give the food in the best 

 Ljondition. Hay and stalks should be bright, and 

 not musty. Cornstalks will go much farther if cut 

 before feeding; but they should be cut very short, 

 ov less than a quarter of an inch in length, so as to 

 be tine like chaff; this can only be accomplished 

 iij horse-power; it rarely, or never, pays to cut 

 [odder by hand. Grain should be ground where- 

 3ver practicable, for animals of whatever kind. 



Straw should be carefully saved, even when 

 •aised in large quantities, as it has so many uses, 

 [t may be employed largely in feeding animals, if 

 X little grain or meal is fed to them, regularly, at 

 the same time. It may be largely used as litter, 

 and c(Kiverted into manure. It forms an excellent 

 covering for large heaps of roots in winter, whether 

 in root cellars or more exposed. It may be em- 

 ployed as a cover for temporary sheds for protect- 

 ing cattle and sheep. In most cases the best way 

 to niimage straw is to thrash the grain as the straw 

 is needed through winter, by means of a two-horse 

 endless chain power, which requires but few 

 ban is in attendance. If thrashed with a larger 

 macliine, care should be taken to save the straw 

 from injury; if bound in bundles, as it is thrashed, 

 it may be more readily handled. The best way to 

 do this is to twist previously a large quantity of 

 straw bands, whicii may 

 l)e done by means of the 

 ^- ^ < .-,=±ju^ - ^ y hook and handle shown 



^ "■*™" in the annexed figure, the 



Hooic for Twisting Straw Bands, operator taking the han- 

 dle in his right hand, holding tlie wooden i)ortion 

 of tlie hook in his left, and twisting as he walks 

 backward ; . the hook is easily made by bending 

 stout wire; or the twisting may be more rapidly 

 performed by attaching a hook to the pinion of a 

 fanning mill*. These bands, if twisted of slightly 

 moist oat straw, will preserve their twist as soon 

 as dry, and may be cut up into any desired length. 

 When the thresliing is performed, place a straw 

 band so that the straw may fall upon it, drawing it 

 into a compact heap, and when large enough, bind 

 it. As soon as the binding is commenced, let a 

 second hand place another band, and proceed as 

 the first lias done. In this way two men will bind 

 all the straw that is thrown out of the largest size 

 machine, 



VENTILATION, 



This is important for all animals — horses, 



* We have never made straw bands, but have many linies 

 twis'ed hay rnpes There s no difficulty in lurnine ihe huol; fast 

 enough. Any boy can turn as fast as a man can feed.— Eds G. F, 



cattle or swine. Foul air, drawn into the lungs, 

 can not tail to injure its delicate coatings and 

 destrov, more or less, the health of the animal. 

 Many farmers have decided against stables, because 

 of the injury from dirt and bad air. Keep them 

 well littered at all times, and let them breathe a 

 pure air, and a different report will be made. But 

 another, opposite, evil must be also avoided. Cold 

 currents of air, sweeping through cracks, are some- 

 times nearly as bad as open exposure, and for this 

 reason some farmers have concluded that exposiu'e 

 is best, after all. 



BHKKP. 



Large flocks should be separated into portions of 

 about fifty each, in separate jiens in the shed, plac- 

 ing the stronger in one pen. the weakest in another, 

 each portion being as nearly equal in strengtli and 

 vigor as possible. Sheep always do best if fed 

 some grain through the winter, commencing with 

 a very small quantity at first and gradually increas- 

 ing as the winter advances. Caution in beginning 

 to feed lambs in small quantities is particularly im- 

 portant An average of half a pint of corn a day 

 is* suflScient for fidl-grown sheep — half tliat for 

 lambs, A good time is to feed them grain at noon, 

 and fodder night and morning, 



COLTS AND YOUNG HORSES 



do well on straw, with a little grain. An excellent 

 way is to cut oats in the sheaf an inch or two 

 long, and feed the whole, grain and straw together. 



GOOD WATER 



should be provided at all times for all domestic an- 

 imals, and should be supplied to them frequently 

 and regularly, or at their pleasure. Depriving 

 them of drink for a long time, and then allowing 

 them to drink too much, is detrimental to tlie best 

 tlirift, 



MANURE. 



The largest and best stables have a central alley 

 passing through them, wide enough for a v;agon or 

 horse-cart to pass and carry out the daily cleanings 

 of the stalls. Smaller stables may be cleaned by 

 wheeling the manure out daily by hand. There 

 are different modes of managing manure in win- 

 ter — if not very strawy, it may be drawn at once 

 and spread over the fields. On grass land thiis 

 treated it will produce a much better effect tlian if 

 applied in spring, the rain soaking the soluble por- 

 tions well into the soil and among the roots ; an 

 equally good effect is produced if the sod is to be 

 plowed for corn. No fear need be entertained of 

 tiie manure washing away, except in the beds of 

 streams, as the soil, as soon as thawed, and 

 especially if of a loamy or clayey nature, instantly 

 absorbs the soluble manure. If the manure is quite 

 strawy, it should be jilaced in large, square piles, 

 that it may rot down ; and when the central por- 

 tion is decayed, the edges should be cut down with 

 a hay-knife and thrown on the top. Manure con- 

 taining little fibre, or litter, .should be kept under 

 shidter to prevent waste, but coarse and strawy 

 manure should be exposed to rains to hasten decay. 

 Muck, which has been shoveled out and dried last 

 suimner, may now be drawn and applied to yards 

 and manure heaps. 



FEEDING RACKS, 



to prevent the waste of fodder, should be pro- 



