1881 .] * 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
3 
least expense—for. that means the best profit 
in the end. Any flesh or strength lost for 
want of a pound of hay or grain, will be like¬ 
ly to require half a dozen pounds of feed to 
restore it, and here “a penny saved” is “a 
sixpence lost.” Animals grow less in winter; 
most of their food goes to keep up internal 
heat to supply that escaping by reason of the 
cold outside. A warm place will save much 
of the food thus used, and less will be required, 
or more will go to increasing growth and 
weight, and that is profitable. Warm shel¬ 
ters, bams, stables, closed cracks, tight fences, 
straw sheds well shut in, “dug-outs” on the 
prairies for cattle, horses, sheep, swine,poultry 
Fig. 1.— A RATTAN BRUSH FOR ANIMALS. 
—all of these are feed-saving, growth-produc¬ 
ing, health-conserving, and therefore sources 
of real profit. There is money in keeping every 
animal shielded from wind and cold, as much 
as possible, excepting only that they be not 
confined in foul air ... . Growing animals 
need more food and protection than mature 
ones. The future size, vigor, and value of a 
horse, ox, cow, or sheep, may be doubled by a 
little extra feed and care during the growing 
period, and especially in winter. The boy’s 
idea of feeding his pig only on alternate days 
“ so as to have a streak of fat and a streak of 
lean meat ” is too often acted upon—uninten¬ 
tionally of course. The one day’s hunger will 
pull down a colt or calf, or other animal, 
greatly. Warm or unfrozen water is a health- 
saver and food-saver.... Thought and me¬ 
chanical skill will devise many contrivances 
for saving feed. 
Figure 1 shows a very convenient Brush for 
animals, made of split rattan, which is flex¬ 
ible, not softened by water,, and is very 
durable. It is less harsh to the skin than the 
ordinary metal curry-comb. These brushes 
are on sale generally, at quite moderate prices. 
Fig. 2.—A CHEAP AND SUBSTANTIAL FEEDING RACK. 
Figure 2 shows a simple, easily constructed 
Feed-Rack for the stock yard. The fodder is 
thrown in at the top, and drawn out by the 
cattle through the open space between the 
boards, only as fast as eaten, saving waste. 
“ Bricks without straw ” are made now, but 
none without clay. Milch cows and hens are 
manufacturers, but they cannot make some¬ 
thing out of nothing. They must have the 
raw materials, or they cannot produce milk 
and eggs. And when they have the materi¬ 
als, the abundance and quality of production 
will depend upon the machinery being kept 
in good working order—not cold or frozen up. 
A shivering cow or hen is in poor condition 
to produce well. So give them good shelter. 
The cow will pay you back for a warm mash 
of cut feed and bran or richer meal. Like¬ 
wise the- hen for a frequent dish of warm 
boiled potatoes or mush, in a warm place. 
Gravel for her “ mill,” and ground bones or 
oyster shells for egg shells are needed. A hen 
may lay a shell-less egg, but she will not keep 
it up intentionally . . , . The “ bricks without 
straw or clay ’ idea, is of wide application as 
to farm animals generally to cows and hens 
making milk and eggs; to sheep making 
wool; to growing colts, calves, lambs, pigs, 
etc., making flesh and bone ; to working ani¬ 
mals making muscle to supply the place of 
that used up by exertion of strength ; to all 
animals, human included, making fat to sup¬ 
ply that used up constantly in keeping the body 
warm, especially in winter. All must have 
the raw materials to manufacture from, and 
among these water, not ice cold, or nearly so, 
in full supply, is one of the indispensable ele¬ 
ments—not the only one. No more profitable 
study is there for the keeper of animals, than 
to carefully learn and know what materials, 
and what mixtures of them, yield the largest 
returns at the least expense; as well as the con¬ 
dition of the manufacturing machines, or ani¬ 
mals, as affecting their producing capabilities. 
Some of ora Western readers will smile at 
what follows, but before doing so we request 
them to turn back and read on page 340 of 
the last September American Agriculturist, 
the experience of “A Yorkshire Fanner on the 
Prairies 4 ” That chapter ought to be read and 
pondered and acted upon by every dweller on 
prairie soil. It would be worth much to 
those who heed it, and worth untold millions 
to the country.—Take a field of com, for ex¬ 
ample, in fair order as to soil. With the 
soil under half the hills mix a pint each of 
good manure, leaving half the hills without. 
We affirm that, on the average, the manured 
hills will give much larger ears, more of 
them, and much more good com and stalks, 
usually 15 to 30 bushels more per acre, with 
no more cost for plowing, planting, and hoe¬ 
ing. The same holds good for nearly all 
crops. The lesson we desire to inculcate 
strongly, is, that every handful or pint of 
good manure made and saved will give a good 
hill of com, large full ears, in place of small 
ones, perchance only short ears or nubbins ; 
or equivalent results with other crops. The 
wise farmer who means to be a successful 
manufacturer of crops this year, will give great 
attention to the making and saving, in the 
best condition, of every possible load, bushel, 
pint of good manure he can, from this day 
on. He will not let a gill of the brown, but 
golden liquid escape by running out, or wash¬ 
ing out by rains. If without straw or litter 
to absorb it all, he will bring in leaves, muck, 
or even sods, or loam for the purpose. 
Some way he will hold it and get it among 
the plant roots next summer, sure. 
Those who burn wood should understand 
well that the escaping steam from burning 
green wood carries off, in a latent state, a 
large part of the heat produced : that a cord 
of dry wood supplies as much heat for use 
as two cords of green wood ; that two cords 
of some kinds of wood when dry have no 
more weight to be hauled than one cord of 
green. Therefore, the prudent man will, this 
winter, when labor is cheap, have a full sup¬ 
ply of wood all cut and split and ready to use. 
Killing hogs, if not already over, is one of 
the jobs of this month. The cold uses up 
so much fat that there is less 
profit, if any, in feeding for 
fattening during low thermom¬ 
eter weather, unless there are 
warm, enclosed pens, and hard¬ 
ly then. Fig. 3 shows a simple 
home-made scraper, handy to 
remove the hair after scald¬ 
ing. It is merely a piece of a 
Fig. 3.— a hog- scythe, bent into the form 
scraper. shown in the engraving, with 
the ends fastened to a wooden handle. 
The object of these Notes is partly to of¬ 
fer suggestions and hints, and partly as a 
reminder of needed work or care. A few 
hints more must suffice now. To say nothing 
of good looks, keeping the skin of ani¬ 
mals clean, and often livened up with curry¬ 
comb and brush, conduces to comfort, and 
health, and profit, and this for colts, cows, 
oxen, and calves, as well as for horses. See 
fig. 1. . . . Daily exercise for all kinds of ani¬ 
mals is good, if it is not oppressively cold, 
or icy walking. Fattening hogs and milk 
cows need but little exercise, however. 
. . . . Mares in foal ought to have roomy 
box stalls, without halters .... Apples, 
potatoes, turnips, mangels, or cabbage leaves, 
etc., are very good, along with dry feed, for 
any and all animals. Cut hay, scalded and 
sprinkled with mush, or even a little bran, 
or meal, is relished, and good for them. 
In gathering ice it is risky to wait for it to 
get as thick as we would, like to have it. 
When there is solid ice six inches thick, the 
harvest should begin at once; some do not 
wait after it is four inches thick. If there is 
a fall of snow while the ice is forming, remove 
it from the surface while it is light, where it 
is intended to cut 
at once; scrapers, 
a snow push (see 
page 17), stable 
brooms, etc., may 
be used. The hard¬ 
ware and imple¬ 
ment stores furnish 
a complete outfit 
of ice tools; mark¬ 
ers, plows, planes, 
saws, breakers, 
etc. ; all very de¬ 
sirable for large 
operations, but for 
the farmer’s use 
few tools are re¬ 
quired beyond 
those he has upon 
the farm. The tools 
shown in figure 4 
are those most 
needed, A is an Ice Hatchet, of the ap¬ 
proved shape; a common hatchet or small 
axe will answer. The splitting-bar, B, used 
to break ice after it has been deeply grooved, 
is a heavy chisel with an iron handle. The 
