1884.J 



THE LANCASTER FARMEK. 



THE BEST METHOD OF WINTERING 

 HORNED CATTLE,* 



As tlie tcnu in tliis hilitiuk' during wliich 

 cattle must be fed on dry rations, lasts from 

 five to six months, it is a matter of groat im- 

 portance to know how our stock cau be best 

 and most economically wintered. 



The first requisite is good and sufficient 

 food, and next shelter. As our winters are 

 cold it requires a largo amount of food to 

 keep up the animal heal even when the stock 

 is warmly stabled. Feed rich in carbohy- 

 drates is the proper thing to sustain intense 

 combustion and also to fatten the animal. 

 Corn is such a feed and fortunately is raised 

 here in as great perfection as in any part of 

 the world. Tiie animal's nervous and muscu- 

 lar and bony structure must be maintained 

 also, and to have symmetrical and healthy de- 

 velopment must have phosphorus and nitro- 

 gen. Bran, shorts, clover, hay and linseed 

 cake contain the.se elements, and in addition 

 to corn make a perfect ration. Science indi- 

 cates that a mixture of two parts, by measure, 

 of corn and one part of bran would be a good 

 proportion for fattening cattle, and corn and 

 bran half and half or corn and oats for dairy 

 cows or young growing stock. The experi- 

 ence of practical feeders and stock growers 

 confirms the theories of the chemist. 



Animals like a change of feed, too. Corn- 

 fodder and hay may be given alternately, and 

 an occasional feed of potatoes, mangolds or 

 even turnips is much relished. These roots 

 are from ninety to ninety-five percent, water, 

 and yet the avidity with which cattle eat them 

 in winter would indicate thai they are useful 

 for a change, and probably assist in the diges- 

 tion and assimilation of dry feed. Of course 

 all animals should have water at least once a 

 day. 



As regards the value of ensilage for stock 

 I have not had any practical experience, but 

 am inclined to think it will be a means of 

 keeping a large number of Mninials through 

 the winter months. Any one who has been 

 watching the discussion of the ensilage ques- 

 tion in the agricultural papers cannot help 

 but see that the advocates of the system are 

 invariably those who are using it and can 

 speak authoritatively and the opponents are 

 o.lmost invi;iriably mere theorists. Chemists 

 who are reiterating their assertions that well 

 cured hay contains the same elements as grass 

 viinics the water, ought to know that cows 

 fed on grass only will make a much larger 

 quantity of butter and of better quality than 

 the same cows fed on hay only. Every farmer 

 knows that cows changed from dry feed to 

 grass immediately increase the production of 

 milk and butter and vice versa. I cannot see 

 why properly preserved green feed may not 

 produce the .same result. 



Mo.st of the cattle feeders in this county 

 give their steers a ration of meal at noon, but 

 I have not known dairymen to feed meal to 

 their cows more than twice per day. It is all 

 important that animals should be fed at stated 

 times. When the time comes they arc rest- 

 less until fed and consequently do not thrive. 

 All the best feeders with which I am ac- 

 quainted curry their steers daily, and the 

 animals enjoy it greatly and, I have no doubt, 



»Rend before the Lancaster Couiitv .\Bricult\ir»l and 

 Horticultural Society, January 7, 1884, by John U. Lin- 

 vUle. 



tlirive better for it. ]{epeated experiments, 

 however, at an eastern station would .seem to 

 show that fattening cattle lay on the fat faster 

 w ithout currying. 



It is best on mild days to let stock of all 

 kinds have at least an hour or two to sun 

 themselves. Sunshine is as essential to ani- 

 mals as to plants. I have not mentioned the 

 old English system of "pit feeding." I think 

 it has never found favor in this country. A 

 pit is dug large enough to permit the animal 

 to turn around and no more. The steer to be 

 fattened is then lowered into it. Bedding is 

 thrown m every day, and feed and water 

 lowered as often as necessary. The depth of 

 the pit and the daily allowance of bedding are 

 so proportioned that when the animal is fat the 

 pit is full of manure of the best quality. In 

 this way the beast is kept in perfect quiet and 

 is said to increase in weight very rapidly. I 

 would not advise any one to attempt this 

 mode of feeding here, lest he should be re- 

 ported to the society for the prevention of 

 cruelty to animals. 



Selections. 



Fruit culture, in its broadest sense, em- 

 braces so many topics that it is impossible 

 even to refer to them all, in a short report. 

 Its importance to the human family, however, 

 is scarcely second to any other of earth's pro- 

 ductions. 



From a pecuniary standpoint the real value 

 of fruits embraces millions of dollars — from a 

 health standpoint their value can hardly be 

 estimated, and fiom their general beauty it is 

 evident that the Creator intended that man 

 by nature should be attracted by them. There 

 is scarcely a healthy child that will not as na- 

 turally take and eat fruit as a duck will take 

 to the water, and if custom and habit would 

 not make man abnormal, fruits would consti- 

 tute the larger proportion of his diet, 



Assuming the foregoing as facts, is there 

 not a wide field for the display of our energies 

 trom both pecuniary and philanthropic stand- 

 points ? 



Since we of the east can no longer success- 

 fully complete with those of the west in grain- 

 growing, stock-raising, or dairying, why not 

 embark more extensively in horticulture? 



Since fruits and vegetables are more per- 

 ishable than the general farm products, they 

 almrst invariably, in fresh and good condi- 

 tion, find a ready market at remunerative 

 prices at home. 



The dependence of our great State upon her 

 neighbors for so large a proportion of horti- 

 cultural products, is at best humiliating, and 

 more emphatically so, while it has soil, cli- 

 mate, capital, muscle (and we had almost 

 said brains) enough to be an exporter instead 

 of an importer of said products. 



Why should our State not supply its own 

 cities and towns with berries, grapes, peaches, 

 pears, apples and other products iu the same 

 line, when it is evident that it can be done? 



As evidence, after such a severe winter as 

 the past, small fruits have done admirably, 

 and need not necessarily be a total failure in 



any season. While the peach crop was cut 

 unusually short in the bay States as well as in 

 the Keystone State, yet not a few orchards, 

 properly located and well attended, in our 

 State, bore fine crops at remunerative prices. 



Grapes were quite a fair crop, pears a full 

 one, and many apple orchards, (although the 

 ofl' year) have fair to abundant crops. At 

 the same time, the unusual heat and drought 

 have caused premature falling and decay. 



It is therefore demonstrated that our State 

 has the capacity of being at least imUpendent, 

 if it cannot claim a monopoly in horticulture ; 

 for the same causes will produce the same 

 effects under the same conditions. For in- 

 stance, if one strawberry patch will yield a 

 good crop, any other patch with similar soil, 

 location and management, will bring similar 

 results ; — the same with peaches, pears, ap- 

 ples, or any other crop. 



It must not be forgotten, however, that 

 success in horticulture, like any other occupa- 

 tion, requires judgment, close observation, 

 and attention. 



A proper selection of soil and location, and 

 choice varieties of fruit is of fir.st importance ; 

 planting must not be done in a slipshod man- 

 ner ; pruning and training itroperly is not 

 child's i)lay. The common notion and prac- 

 tice of trying to produce full fruit and field 

 crops from the same ground at the same time, 

 for a succession of years, without replenish- 

 ing the soil, is simply ridiculous. 



Neither must the study of entomology be 

 neglected, for there is hardly a tree or crop, 

 wheiher of fruits, vegetables or cereals, that 

 is not subject to the ravages of some insect. 

 Diseases of a fungoid nature have also be- 

 come very destructive to plant life. 



The above array of drawbacks seems so 

 formidable, as to discouaage many who might 

 otherwise be inclined to engage in horticul- 

 ture. Thanks, however, to a kind Providence 

 who has, at the same time, given to man the 

 means of counteracting said drawbacks, pro- 

 bably for the good of man, for were he not 

 continually stimulated to exertion, he would 

 lapse into indifTerenco and laziness, from 

 which his mental capacity and highest enjoy- 

 ment would greatly suffer. 



We claim further, that man can, to a cer- 

 tain extent, have control of the seasons; for 

 a well-drained soil, properly located, will suf- 

 fer less in a wet season than soil of a reverse 

 nature. During a hot and dry season like the 

 present, mulching at the proper time will 

 often secure a crop that would otherwise 

 prove a failure ; even frequent stirring the 

 surface of the soil during the drouth is a great 

 benefit to growing crops. Trees which suffer 

 from the effect of cold dry winds, and in 

 many cases die, might be siived by thorougly 

 satuiating the soil as far ;is their roots ex- 

 tend, before winter sets in. 



Therefore, continuous vigilance is the price 

 of success in this as well as in other enter- 

 prises. 



When we are apprised of the resources of 

 our great State, and the means at our hands 

 to develop them, it seems to us almost crimi- 

 nal neglect to permit them to lie dormant, 

 especially when we see some of our sister 

 States, with horticultural resources not supe- 

 rior to ours, pocketing tens of thousands of 

 dollars annually from us, for fruits and vege- 



