1892 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
647 
Live  Stock  Matters 
FORKFULS  OF  FACTS. 
What  is  more  stupid  than  a  Cochin 
hen  ? 
How  many  times  do  you  water  the 
horse  daily  ? 
Measure  the  cost !  Measure  the  cost ! 
of  leaving  your  dairy  cow  out  in  the 
frost  ! 
The  sheep  has  an  overcoat  and  can 
stay  out  in  the  cold.  The  Jersey  was  not 
made  to  wear  an  overcoat  ! 
You  can  put  tarred  paper  and  boards 
around  a  Leghorn  cheaper  than  you  can 
grow  feathers  on  a  Brahma’s  legs. 
Some  weeks  ago  we  had  a  picture  of  a 
Wensleydale  sheep.  It  seems  that  this 
breed  is  becoming  quite  popular  in  Eng¬ 
land  for  furnishing  rams  to  be  used  in 
the  flocks  that  roam  over  the  rough  hills 
in  Scotland  or  upper  England.  The 
sheep  are  strong,  active  and  large,  and 
built  for  what  we  Americans  would  call 
“  hustling.” 
Sauted  to  Death. — A  Detroit  Free 
Press  correspondent  says : 
L.  F.  01  instead  salted  the  roots  of  a 
large  field  of  thistles  with  the  intention 
of  exterminating  them,  and  then  rented 
the  lot  to  James  B.  Bamborough  for  a 
sheep  pasture.  Tuesday  he  turned  161 
lambs  and  118  old  sheep  into  the  pasture 
and  Sunday  found  them  in  a  serious 
strait.  The  entire  flock  is  reduced  from 
“  ready  for  the  market”  to  walking 
skeletons,  23  having  expired  before  Mon¬ 
day  at  6  P.  m.,  and  the  rest  are  in  a 
dangerous  condition.  The  most  eminent 
veterinary  surgeon  in  this  county  lays 
the  cause  to  eating  too  much  of  the  salt. 
Apples  for  Horses  are  Good. — So  are 
pears.  The  windfalls  should  be  fed. 
The  reason  why  some  are  prejudiced 
against  fruit  for  stock  is  because  they 
have  fed  it  without  reason.  The  earliest 
droppings  may  be  given,  increasing  the 
quantity  as  the  fruit  naturally  increases 
in  size.  When  a  horse  is  accustomed  to 
fruit  he  should  not  be  fed  over  two  quarts 
at  a  meal  three  times  per  day.  Apples 
keep  the  bowels  open,  are  bad  for  inter¬ 
nal  parasites,  improve  the  coat  and  in¬ 
crease  the  appetite  of  the  horse,  making 
him  look  fatter  and  act  younger,  h.  s. 
“  New  Poultry  Breeds.” — The  Fan¬ 
cier’s  Journal  has  the  following  news  : 
Several  new  (?)  breeds  appeared  at  the 
Elmira  show.  One  was  called  the  “  Gol¬ 
den  Farmer,”  and  another  the  “  Badger 
Fowl.”  Both  were  exhibited  by  a  lady, 
who  took  much  pride  in  her  novelties,  so 
much  in  fact,  that  she  tied  a  saffron-hued 
ribbon  round  the  neck  of  a  Golden  Farmer 
hen  and  stuck  a  card  on  the  cage  an¬ 
nouncing  the  “  fact  that  the  beribboned 
biddy  laid  three  eggs  every  two  days.” 
Th’s  is  a  startling  record,  and  we  are  as¬ 
sured  that  the  aforesaid  hen  had  done 
such  great  work  for  three  weeks.  Of  the 
great  qualities  of  the  Badger  fowl  we  did 
not  hear  much,  and  to  judge  by  the  looks 
of  the  birds  on  exhibition  bearing  this 
name,  the  utilitarian  qualities  must  be 
something  wonderful  to  make  up  for  the 
lack  of  attractiveness. 
That  Soup  Diet. — Prof.  G.  E  Morrow, 
on  page  605  of  The  R.  N.-Y.,  expresses 
his  belief  that  “  men  exposed  to  extreme 
cold”  would  not  “choose  thin  soup  as 
their  chief  food.”  If  not,  why  not  ?  Is 
not  all  food  reduced  to  thin  soap  before 
it  is  taken  up  and  handed  over  to  the 
blood  ?  Is  there  any  benefit  to  the  sys¬ 
tem  in  tackling  a  hard-boiled  egg  and 
rolling  it  over  and  over  till  it  is  reduced 
to  soup.  What  harm  in  relieving  the 
stomach  of  that  first  operation  of  diges¬ 
tion,  or  a  portion  of  it?  If  people  ex¬ 
posed  to  extreme  cold  do  not  choose 
soup,  is  it  not  from  an  unfounded  preju¬ 
dice  that  the  excessive  water  in  some  way 
gets  into  the  blood  and  makes  it  thin? 
If  horses  fed  upon  green  grass  perspire 
more  freely  and  do  not  endure  hard  work 
as  well,  shall  we  say  it  is  because  it  con¬ 
tains  excessive  water  ?  Or,  is  it  because 
the  grass  is  immature  ?  Because  “  im¬ 
mature  ”  grass  is  an  irritant  and  laxative 
and  acts  like  oil  in  the  stomach  of  a 
horse,  shall  we  conclude  that  the  exces¬ 
sive  water  makes  the  horse  physicked 
and  weak.  It  is  my  belief  that  mature 
grass  does  not  cause  excessive  perspira¬ 
tion  or  unusual  susceptibility  to  cold  in 
the  horse.  A.  e.  b. 
The  Maine  Station  has  gathered  “breed¬ 
ing  statistics”  from  257  cows.  Of  the 
calves  135  were  bulls  and  122  heifers. 
The  average  weight  at  birth  was  about 
73%  pounds — heaviest  122  pounds  and 
lightest  40.  The  average  weight  of  bulls 
was  76  4-5  pounds  and  of  heifers  70  1-10. 
The  longest  period  of  gestation  was  304 
days ;  the  shortest  243.  The  general 
average  was  281  days,  with  little  differ¬ 
ence  between  bulls  and  heifers.  Of  82 
cows  served  in  the  early  part  of  the  heat 
31  produced  bull  calves  and  51  heifers. 
Of  76  cows  served  in  the  last  part  of  heat 
42  produced  bulls  and  34  heifers. 
Likes  Prickly  Comfrey. — I  consider 
Prickly  Comfrey  much  better  than  any 
other  green  crop  raised  around  here  for 
feeding  cows,  as,  no  matter  how  dry  a 
season  we  have,  the  comfrey  will  grow 
the  same  as  in  wet  weather,  a  quarter  of 
an  acre  being  sufficient  for  an  ordinary¬ 
sized  cow.  Out  of  six  cows  five  were 
ravenous  for  it,  and  would  eat  it  in  pre¬ 
ference  to  the  best  grass,  but  one  would 
not  touch  it,  even  after  going  over  a  day 
without  anything  else  to  eat.  The  best 
Vay  to  feed  it  is  to  cut  it  and  feed  it  in 
mangers  or  racks.  It  compares  well  with 
other  green  crops,  as  an  acre  will  feed 
from  three  to  four  cows,  according  to  their 
size.  We  cut  it  with  a  corn  cutter  or 
scythe,  and  do  not  allow  it  to  wilt,  any 
more  than  is  necessary.  The  only  ob¬ 
jection  I  have  ever  heard  to  it  is  the 
bother  of  cutting  and  feeding  it.  I  would 
not  advise  dairymen  to  plant  more  than 
a  quarter  of  an  acre  the  first  year,  so  that 
they  could  test  their  cows  with  it  and  see 
if  they  ate  it  readily.  I  have  not  had 
any  experience  in  feeding  it  to  anything 
but  COWS.  GEORGE  PASCO. 
Value  of  Spayed  Cows. — I  have  had 
some  experience  with  spayed  cows,  but 
have  never  known  or  had  any  reason  to 
believe  that  the  milk  was  changed  in 
character  in  any  way.  I  had  such  a  cow 
in  1859,  and  kept  her  for  six  years.  She 
was  always  in  good  condition  and  gave 
rich  milk,  but  I  do  not  know  if  it  was 
any  richer  after  than  before  the  opera¬ 
tion,  and  I  never  had  any  trouble  in 
making  butter  from  the  cream.  She  had 
been  spayed  when  I  purchased  her.  This 
was  in  a  locality  where  it  was  not  possible 
or  convenient  to  have  cows  have  calves, 
and  all  those  in  the  locality  were  spayed, 
and  many  persons  made  butter  without 
any  difficulty  that  I  ever  heard  of,  and  I 
think,  had  any  difficulty  occurred,  it 
would  have  been  heard  of  as  something 
unusual.  Since  then  I  have  had  several 
spayed  cows,  one  in  New  Jersey  in  my 
dairy  herd,  but  she  gave  a  satisfactory 
quantity  of  butter.  I  have  heard  a  good 
deal  of  spayed  cows  but  never  that  the 
milk  was  different  in  any  way  except 
being  richer  than  other  milk.  It  is  new 
to  me  to  hear  to  the  contrary.  The  quan¬ 
tity  decreases,  but  so  slowly  that  the 
milking  period  may  last  several  years. 
In  the  first  case  mentioned,  the  cow  had 
been  milking  a  year  before  I  got  her,  and 
on  suggesting  to  the  seller  the  uncer¬ 
tainty  of  the  supply  he  said,  “  There  is 
no  danger  of  that ;  I  have  had  cows  like 
this  before,  and  one  milked  nine  years.” 
But  so  far  as  I  have  heard  (I  never  had  a 
cow  spayed)  the  quantity  is  not  dimin¬ 
ished  by  the  operation.  I  have  no  doubt 
that  the  operation  in  some  circumstances 
is  as  useful  as  emasculation,  for  the  cow 
milks  steadily  for  a  long  time  if  well  fed, 
and  may  always  be  kept  fat  and  ready 
for  the  butcher.  If  a  supply  of  such  cows 
were  always  on  hand  I  think  a  profitable 
demand  would  always  exist  for  them,  as 
many  persons  who  keep  but  one,  would 
find  such  most  convenient,  h.  stewaiit. 
Pasturing  Wheat. — For  two  years 
past  Prof.  Georgeson,  of  the  Kansas  Ex¬ 
periment  Station,  has  experimented  with 
pasturing  wheat  to  see  if  this  had  any 
effect  upon  the  yield  of  grain.  Cattle 
were  turned  on  the  wheat  early  in  April, 
and  the  plants  were  eaten  down  close  to 
the  ground,  besides  which  the  soil  was 
well  tramped.  It  has  been  said  by  many 
farmers  that  this  pasturing  is  a  good 
thing,  but  Prof.  Georgeson  does  not  find 
it  so,  for,  as  compared  with  unpastured 
plots,  those  on  which  cattle  ran  showed 
an  average  loss  of  about  three  bushels  of 
grain  per  acre.  Here  is  what  he  says 
about  it : 
The  theory  which  is  so  commonly  held, 
that  pasturing,  in  some  unexplained 
manner,  benefits  the  wheat,  is  not  up¬ 
held  by  these  experiments.  Pasturing 
injures  the  wheat  and  reduces  the  yield. 
The  real  question  at  issue  is,  whether  the 
value  in  feed  thus  obtained  will  balance 
the  loss  in  yield,  and  this  cannot  be 
settled  by  experiments  on  so  small  a 
scale.  If  we  can  ascertain  what  the 
probable  loss  in  yield  is  in  aveiage  cases, 
then  each  farmer  can  decide  for  himself 
if  he  will  pay  that  amount  of  wheat  for 
the  feed  gained. 
Regarding  the  theory  that  pasturing 
wheat  destroys  the  Hessian  fly  Prof. 
Georgeson  says  : 
This  is  a  fallacy  which  should  be  cor¬ 
rected.  The  pupa,  or  “flax  seed,”  of  the 
fly,  which  winters  in  the  wheat,  is  not 
found  on  the  upper  portion  of  the  plant, 
but  is  securely  lodged  between  the 
sheaths  of  the  base  of  the  young  stems, 
below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  out 
of  the  reach  of  animals  browsing  on  the 
tops.  This  any  one  can  readily  ascertain 
for  himself  by  pulling  up  a  wheat  plant 
infested  with  the  fly,  and  peeling  the 
leaves  to  near  the  roots,  where  the  little, 
brown  pupa  will  be  found,  if  present. 
The  only  time  when  pasturing  might 
possibly  be  of  some  aid  in  destroying 
the  fly  is  either  early  in  the  fall,  before 
frost,  or  late  in  the  spring,  after  frosts 
are  over,  when  the  fly  is  active  laying 
eggs,  and  some  of  these  might  be  eaten 
with  the  wheat  ;  but  cattle  are  not  on  the 
wheat  so  early  or  so  late  in  the  season. 
Instead  of  benefiting  fly-blown  wheat, 
pasturing  will  injure  it  still  more,  in  that 
it  weakens  the  plants  and  thus  renders 
them  less  able  to  withstand  the  attacks 
of  the  fly. 
IN  writing  to  advertisers  please  always  mention 
The  Rural. 
LINSEED  OIL  MEAL 
At  present  writing  (July  1,  1892,)  OIL  MEAL  Is  very 
low,  and  now 
IS  A  FAVORABLE  TIME 
to  lay  In  a  stock  for  Fall  Sales  or  use 
JOBBERS  as  well  as  CONSUMERS  will  do 
well  to  consider  this  subject. 
Please  write  us  for  quotations  and  other  particulars 
LEVI  P.  MORXON’g 
ELLERSLIE  GUERNSEYS 
Largest  Guernsey  Herd  in  the  World. 
Cows  give 
6,000  to  11,000 
pounds  milk 
per  year  with- 
o  u  t  forcing. 
Milk  from 
fresh  cows,  4)^ 
to  7  per  cent 
fat. 
BULLS  ONLY 
FOR  SALE. 
H.  M.  COTTRELL,  Supt..  RhlneclilT,  N.  Y. 
MERIDALE  JERSEYS 
AT  AUCTION. 
About  40  head  of 
Cows,  Young  Bulls  and  Bull  Calves 
from  the  Merldale  herd,  will  be  offered  at  auction, 
at  Merldale  Farms,  MEREDITH.  Delaware 
Co.,  N.  Y.,  at  11  o’clock  A.  M., 
Thursday,  October  6th,  1892. 
These  are  all  high  grade  registered  animals,  and 
are  sold  because  of  lack  of  room  to  properly  winter 
them 
For  Catalogue  and  full  particulars,  address 
ayer  &.  McKinney 
Meredith,  Delaware  Co.,  N.  Y. 
AYRSHIRES  FOR  SALE. 
A  very  cholee  lot  of  thoroughbred  Ayrshire  calves 
—  bulls  and  heifers— entitled  to  Immediate  registry, 
the  offspring  of  deep-milking  cows,  and  from  a  bull 
notable  for  his  line  dnLcv  points.  Price,  f.  o.  I).  hero, 
KiUJO  each.  1).  M.  CAMPBELL.  Oneonta,  N  Y. 
The  Improved 
Was  awarded  TWO  first  premlu 
at  Madison  Square  Garden,  Feb. 
9th,  1892,  first  of  $25.  tn  gold  for 
the  best  hatch, firstof  $25.  in  gold 
for  the  best  machine  in  operation 
at  the  show,  all  the  lead'ng  ma¬ 
chines  competing.  More  than 
1800  ducks,  chicks  and  turkeys 
fromone  machine  in  seven  weeks. 
Price  reduced.  Thousands  in 
successful  operation  in  U.S.,  Can¬ 
ada  and  Europe.  Satisfaction  uni¬ 
versal.  Over  30  first  premiums. 
Send  for  Circulars.  JAMES  RANKIN,  So.  Easton,  Mass. 
Monitor  Incubator. 
New  Model. 
FIRST  P  R  E  MIUM 
this  fall  at  Montreal, 
Canada  Exposition, 
Syracuse  and  Elmira, 
N.  Y.  great  Fairs. 
THE  MOST  SUC¬ 
CESSFUL  machine 
ever  sold.  Send  stamp 
for  catalogue  before 
buying.  It  will  be  for 
your  Interest.  DON'T  FAIL.  Address 
A.  F,  WI  LLIAMS,  Lock  Box  698,  Bristol,  Conn. 
DETROIT  LINSEED  OIL  WORKS, 
DETROIT.  MICHIGAN. 
Cross-Bred  Lambs  for  Market. 
IJwlll  sell  at  farmers’  prices  Buck  Lambs,  bred  from 
Merino  Ewes,  by  Hampshire  Down  and  Shropshire 
Bucks,  for  use  on  Grade  Ewes,  guaranteeing  to  in¬ 
crease  weight  of  fleece  and  keep  weight  of  carcass. 
Also  full-blooded  Merino,  Shropshire  and  Hamp¬ 
shire  Down  Bucks;  and  will  exchange  registered 
Holsteins  for  sheep.  CLARK  BELL, 
Bell  View  Farm,  Dundee,  N.  Y. 
SHROPSHIRE  SHEEP. 
Imported  Rams  and  Ewes,  also  Ilome-bred  Shear¬ 
lings  and  Lambs  by  The  Sort,  a  son  of  Rare  Stamp, 
the  sire  of  the  sensational  shearlings  of  1891,  and  out 
of  Ewes  by  Bonnie  Beau,  sire  of  the  English  cham¬ 
pion  ram  of  1892.  Prices  such  as  will  command  sales. 
Address  RICHARD  GIBSON. 
Delaware,  Ont.,  Canada. 
Dorset  Rams  For  Sale. 
FOR  sale,  and  ready  fer  Immediate  shipment,  the 
best  lot  of  Dorset  Rams  I  have  ever  had.  Our  flock 
consists  of  over  200  breeding  ewes,  all  Imported,  and 
the  best  to  be  had  out  of  the  choicest  flocks  In  Eng¬ 
land.  And  our  breeding  rams  are  Imported,  First- 
Prize  winners  at  the  Royal. 
Let  those  who  want  to  raise  early  and  many  lambs, 
give  the  Dorsets  a  trial,  and  they  wilt  soon  be  con¬ 
vinced  of  their  superiority  over  all  other  breeds. 
Also  for  sale,  a  few  EWE  LAMBS,  and  IMPORTED 
EWES,  bred  to  Imported  Royal  Windsor,  First-Prize 
Winner  at  the  Royal  Show  at  Windsor.  Eng. 
All  stock  delivered  free  of  expressage  to  the  buyer 
Address  T.  S.  COOPER, 
Coopersburg,  Lehigh  Co.,  Pa. 
Cotswolds,  Southdowns, 
Oxford  Down  and  Shrop¬ 
shire  Sheep  and  Lambs  of 
superior  breeding.  We  are  booking  orders  now  for 
lambs  of  tiie  above  breeds,  We  also  have  a  choice 
lot  of  yearlings  and  two-year-olds  to  offer.  Write 
at  once  for  prices  and  particulars. 
W.ATLEE  BURPEE  &  CO.,  PH1LA.,  PA. 
FAQ  CA|  C  —Registered  Shropshire  Rams, 
run  OHLCi  yearlings,  by  Imported  sire 
at  $15.  ASSOCIATED  FARMS,  Skaneateles,  N.  Y. 
NICKEL-PLATED 
POULTRY 
MARKER 
Will  give  226  different  marking*. 
Sent  by  mall  on  receipt  of  35c. 
Caponlzing  Instruments  and  other 
Poultry  Specialties.  Send  for  Catl’g, 
H.  WIG  MORE.  107  S.  8  th  St.  Phila.Pa. 
HIGH-CLASS  SHROPSHIRES ! 
F’tfty  Bowen-Jones  yearling  rams  from  1892  Impor¬ 
tations  are  selling  to  our  oldest  and  best  breeders. 
Send  for  catalogue. 
THE  WILLOWS,  Paw  Paw,  Mich. 
WATERING  DEVICE 
for  LIVE  STOCK  In  STABLES.  Send  for  circu¬ 
lars  for  the  only  practical  and  economical  one  In  ihe 
market. 
C.  E.  BUCKLEY  A  CO.,  Dover  Plains,  NT.; 
HORSES  -  -  -  CATTLE. 
SMITHS  &  POWELL,  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  offer  very 
superior  FRENCH  COACH,  STANDARD,  CLYDESDALE,  PERC1IERON, 
DRIVING  and  MATCHED  COACH  HORSES  (many  of  the  Prize  winners)  at 
very  reasonable  prices. 
Also  HOLSTEIN-ERIESIAN  CATTLE,  from  the  handsomest  and  most  noted 
milk  and  butter  herd  in  the  world. 
RARE  BARGAINS  in  choice  show  animals,  and  cows  wi'ih  great  records. 
STATE  JUST  WHAT  YOU  WANT,  AND  NAVE  TIME. 
