W^" 



1864:. 



THE ILLINOIS FARMER. 



1T5 



When the calf is first taken from its mother it 

 should be removed as fiir as is convenient from her, 

 moved to a calf stable, and there receive a dtink 

 three times a day, at the same time they used to 

 suck ; in the meantime they are allowed hay. 



"The fiist peculiarity now of my mode of feeding 

 is this, that into the drink of the calves I mix a great 

 deal of linseed. 



"Whoever examines the the milk which forms 

 the natural food of the calf will find that the calf 

 receives a great deal of fatty matter in its food. 

 Is it then justified to rob the calf at once of this 

 constituent by skimming the milk ? This was the 

 question I asked myself in 1856; and though, or 

 rather because I then had no knowledge of chen is- 

 try, I concluded to allow each calf a pound of lin- 

 seed, ill compensation for the cteani withdrawn. 

 For it must be remembered that in 1856 our scien- 

 tific men set no value upon fat as a constituent of 

 the food. Dr. Kuhn was the first to teach and 

 prove the necessity of giving our animals an allow- 

 ance of fat. I am now fully convinced that my 

 suncess is due chiefs to the mixing of fatty matter 

 with the food. 



From the Boston Cultivator. 



Cut and Uncut Potatoes. 



Editors of the Cultivator : — A few years ago I tii:'d 

 several experiments to determine whether whole 

 or cut potatoes would yield the best. I had plan- 

 ted whole potatoes, but many farmers said that cut 

 potatoes a;-e hettei'. My experiments satisfied me 

 that whole potatoes are best in all cnses. I give 

 the result of one experiment. The variety used 

 was Jackson white. 



The potatoes were carefully selected and weigh- 

 ed when planted, the produce dug when ripe and 

 weighed. The manure was spread on; plister 

 applied in the hiil, three bu-bels to the acre. A 

 few I'ows (if each kind were ])lanted through the 

 piece, and the calculation made for an acre of 

 each kind. 



One acre planted with large, uncut potatoes, 58 

 bushels to the acre, yielded at the rate of 37*7 

 bushels to the acre. One acre planted with mid- 

 dling sized potatoes, 29 bushels to the acre, 333 

 bushels. One acre planted with' cut potatoes, 29 

 bushels to the acre, yielded 249 bushels. One 

 acre planted with small, whole potatoes, 9 bushels 

 to the acre, yielded 244 bushes. 



If any of the subscribers of the Cultivator have 

 tried similar experiments with differeut results, j 

 should like to hear from them through its columns. 



Holden, Me. D. B. K. Lowell. 



Dairy Farming. 



Since the commencement of the rebellion, sheep 

 and wool have been on a bender. High price in- 

 duced thousands to go into the sheep business to 

 the neglect and abandonment of the dairy. The 

 result is, as might have been expected, there is 

 now a short supply of dairy products in the mar- 

 ket, and probably in the country, and prices have 

 gone up to a high figure. Some assign the cause 

 of the present price to speculators, but tiowever 

 much that useless class of operators may have 

 to answer for, we think they will be acquitted up- 

 on that charge. The fact is, the supply is not 

 equal to the demand. This is brought about by 



the cause referred to above, and other disturbing 

 causes incident to the great drain made upon our 

 producing population to fill the ranks of the army. 



Really, the price of butter and cheese is no 

 higher in proportion than that of most of the oth- 

 er prime necessaries of life. But it has now reach- 

 ed a figure quite satisfactory for the manufiicturer, 

 and those farmers who have not exchanged their 

 cows for sheep, will have an opportunity the com- 

 ing season to demonstrate that it will pay to maka 

 butter and cheese, as well as to raise wool. Pres- 

 ent prices may not be maintained, but there is no 

 doubt these articles will rule high for the present. 



As between butter and cheese, our impression 

 is that the larger profit may be realized from the 

 butter. The milk required to make a pound of 

 butter wiil make something like three of cheese. 

 What the difference may be in the expense of man- 

 ufacturing, we have no means of knowing. Far^ 

 mers' wives and dairy maids can tell, and we sup- 

 pose they will govern themselves accordingly. — 

 Whichever they undertake to make, they should 

 take hold of tlie work understandingly and perform 

 it thoroughly. High prices can only be obtained 

 for good articles. Poor and indifferent qualities 

 will go hard at any price. So that those who wish 

 to turn their dairy products to a good account, 

 must see to it that everything connected with their 

 manufacture, be neai, clean and sweet. There is 

 no sort of excuse for poor butter or poor cheese. 

 It is the result of sheer carclessne?-s, which is very 

 often shifted off upon the cows. A thiifiy, wide- 

 awake, clear-headed farmer has no trouble on tiiis 

 score. He provides his wife with suitable rooms 

 and implements for her calling, and she soon im- 

 bibes h's s^piiit of enthusiasm, and cheerfully sec- 

 onds his efforts by properly superintending them. 

 77iey have swevt buttt^r and good cheese, which 

 always brings the highest market price, generally 

 at their door. 



Tho^^e who undertake to carry on a dairy in a 

 car.h'ss, shifil?-^smannfr, need not be disappointed 

 if the incimie from their cows does not make the 

 prosecution of the business profitable. Bear in 

 mind that "anything that is woi'th doing at all is 

 worth doing well," and that this maxim applies 

 with as much force to dairy firming, as to any 

 other operation connected with a farm, or with 

 anything else. — iV. H. Jour, of A</riculture. 



Grub in the Head. 



A correspondent of the Wisconsin Farmer gives 

 the foUowimg as a remedy for grub in the head of 

 sheep. It is worth trying, and looks quite reason- 

 able: 



"About the first of March, make a mixture of 

 one quart of tar, one pint of spirts of turperntine, 

 one pint of linseed oil ; simmer well, and when 

 coo], mix two ounces of black pepper ground fine. 

 — Make a small swab by winding tow or flax on a 

 small, tough stick, dip it in a mixture and gently 

 slip it up the nostril to the . bridge of the no^e. — 

 Go through the flock in this manner. If on the 

 barn floor, you will find grubs there in a little 

 while. The turpentine, kills, the oil loosens, the 

 pepper makes the sheep ?neeze them out, tar is 

 healing. — I never knew a sheep to die of grub in 

 the head after being treated as above. 



Preventive. Take the above mixture without the 

 pepper, and go through ' ' flock as above in Oc- 



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