164 



THE FARM. 



vermin are concerned, but not aa to the animals that lick it oflf from their 

 bodies, so that almost any oily or greasy application will be destructive to 

 insect vermin that infest animals if it is applied where it will do the most 

 good." 



Still another authority says: " A good remedy for Uce on cattle is water 

 in which potatoes wei'e boiled. For every one of your cattle take two quarts 

 of water and eight middle-sized potatoes cut in half. If you have ten cattle, 

 you must take eighty potatoes and twenty quarts of water. When the 

 potatoes are soft take them out. Get a large sponge and wash the cattle 

 freely, choosing a warm day. Comb them with a currycomb, and you will 

 be astonished to see the effects of the potato water." 



Cheap Slielter for Stock—Shelter for stock is one of the great needs 

 of farmers. It is costly to build a barn and shed, but for simple purposes of 

 shelter farmers might make greater use of their abundance of straw. In 

 8<mie localities it is customary to buru this as the readiest means to get it 

 out of the way. A much better use might be made of it in constructing 

 shelter for all kinds of stock, both against rain and cold. A very good plan 

 is to make a frame of poles (as the engraving represents), and stack straw 

 over them. This work should be done at threshing time, but if it has been 



^ neglected it may be done 



Sf^^^^'^^^^^^^^^^s. at any later time. It pays 



"^^^^^^^ richly in health, thrift, and 



^ ^VkS ^ saving of food, to 



.\ iWOii^ provide shelter. 



CHEAP SHELTER FOK STOCK. 



The Soiling Systeiu 

 vrith Co'ivs. — It is a ques- 

 tion of economy as to 

 whether it is wise in us to 

 allow the herd the full oc- 

 cupancy of a pasture, in 

 order to reap the products 

 in the shape of butter and 

 milk. A large herd re- 

 quires a large pasture, and before any estimate can be made in the way of 

 profit and loss, the value of the pasture itself, and the probabihty of what it 

 may yield if cultivated, should be considered. 



The soiling system, which demands that the cattle shall be fed at the 

 barn instead of pasturing in the field, has many advocates, and the reasons 

 in its favor are that fewer fences are required, more manure is saved, larger 

 yields of milk and butter are procured, and less space is required. Those 

 who oppose the method say that it requires extra labor, and that the health 

 of the stock is improved by their having the Uborty of the pasture. 



Every consideration should be made, however, regarding the conditions. 

 If the stock is kept on farms that are too large for cultivation, and where 

 space is no object, witli an unlimited supply of grass that cannot be utihzed 

 except by being pastured, then the soiling system is not economical, for no 

 necessity arises for its practice; but on small dairy fai-ms, where land ie 

 valuable and the products within easy reach of the best markets, the system 

 of stall feeding of cattle is one tliat should be carried to an extreme, for the 

 result will be very profitable, any other method being suicidal in tho 

 extreme. Tlie extra labor recjuired is equalized by the saving ki feuces, aod 



