402 
March 18, 1922 
Vbt RURAL NEW-YORKER 
ROOT 
noose 
HAV 
your hand cultivator as soon as 
can trace the rows, it will save a lot 
of hand weeding, for it is easier to 
kill a thousand weeds just after they 
have germinated than to kill 10 after 
they are well started. The small 
tractor takes the place of a horse in 
cultivating corn. tomatoes, celery 
(after it is transplanted), potatoes, 
lleans, etc. 
After your seeds are up keep the 
cultivator going continuously. Run 
through your plot at least once a week, and 
especially as soon as the ground 
after a rain. A friend once si 
don't see liow in the world you a coo 
My answer was: “I do the work 1 m 
he done." I meant by that that a majority of people 
looking at my plot would say that it was in perfect 
condition and does not need working. Still, 1 keep 
the cultivator going. 
Can produce be raised as successfully with com¬ 
mercial fertilizer as with manure? Positively yes! 
If I had my choice <>f using $50 worth of manure or 
the same of fertilizer. I would choose the latter. 
Why? It is easier to handle, docs not contain any 
weed seed, and will give as good results. 1 advise 
using one-half ton of complete fertilizer (4-8-10) per 
acre in Ihe Spring, when the first crop is planted, 
and Ihe same quality in midsummer, when the 
later crops are planted. After plowing ground, sow 
i' broadcast and harrow it in. 
In 1S90 I moved on a small, rundown farm that 
would hardly grow white beans. A number of the 
holds never had a pound of manure or lime in the IS 
years I worked the place, and yet when I left the 
farm it wfts in a high state of cultivation. Commer¬ 
cial fertilizer? Yes. william perkins. 
New Jersey. 
/VIS SAG* 
reeo 
ROOM 
\J\ATt K 
LAMB CREEP 
HAY I 
shed that they already have in prefer¬ 
ence to building one for the purpose. 
This is perfectly feasible, though in 
,, most eases all the requirements of a 
good sheep barn will not be met. and 
a building built for the purpose will 
pay in the long run through better re¬ 
sults and saving of time and labor in 
for the sheep. The accompanying ground plan 
shows the arrangement of the lower story of the sheep 
barn at Fillmore Farms, Vermont. The upper story 
is for storage of hay. Sliding outer doors close the 
building up tight in stormy weather, and low slatted 
doors that slide up and down may he used on warm 
days. The passageway is handy to pen up sheep 
for shearing. The barn should he connected with a 
run on the south side, so that on days when it is 
warm enough the sheep may he fed some coarse 
roughage outside and thereby give them a chance to 
exercise. When the Winter is not too severe racks 
may be placed in the yard and the hay fed out of 
doors. 
SEPARATE PENS.—As the ewes lamb put them 
in separate pens away from the rest ol’ the flock. 
These pens can ho made of two little panels about 
:t ft. high and G ft. long, hinged together at one end. 
When needed they can be unfolded and booked to 
the corner of the barn: another one goes alongside 
as soon as they are needed. Ewes having twins 
should be kept in these pens until the lambs know 
their mother. As the ewes with lambs are removed 
from these pens, put them in a separate space from 
the ewes which have not lambed yet, as they will 
require more attention and different feed, and it 
will he found easier to care for the ewes and lambs 
if they are separated from the rest of the flock. 
FEEDING EWES WITH LA MRS.—Alfalfa or 
clover hay with silage or roots will he found the 
most satisfactory forms of roughage to feed the 
ewes with lambs, ivliile oats, bran, oil cake and corn 
should make up the concentrates. The object in 
view is the same as willi dairy cows: to produce 
the largest possible supply of milk. A combination 
feeder of some such form as the accompanying 
diagram will prove very practicable. The hay is 
put in the upper compartment, and the silage, sliced 
roots and grain fed in the lower trough. These may 
be made up in any length and placed against the 
walls, or by putting them hack to hack can be set 
up in the center of the shed. 
FEEDING THE EAMRS.— As before stated, the 
little lambs will begin In eat grain when about three 
v,eeks old. For this purpose creeps are constructed, 
which are nothing more than a space accessible only 
Ground Plan of Vermont Sheep Barn. Fig. 175 
could he made. No doubt the manufacturers would carin 
do a far different job. hut these figures will answer 
I the question and show about what a 4-8-10 fertilizer 
” may be. 
What is a “4-8-10 Ferl 
T read with interest an article on ill 
Onion Culture." page 170, by William 
Jersey. He said he used a complete fei 
Will 'you tell me what a fertilizer of 
contains? J 
Connecticut. 
I N the Eastern States the figures 4 
a mixed' fertilizer indicate that tl 
tains in one ton 4 per cent or v O lbs. 
lbs. of phosphoric uoid and 200 lbs. t» 
a combination may be put together i 
In a garden fertilizer the usual chci 
nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia 
tankage, flue ground hone or acid 
muriate or sulphate of potash. The 
shows the average composition of t 
These figures are not exact, as eompc 
Fresh water should he supplied in abundance, as 
the fevered condition of her system will require it. 
As soon as the lamb takes all of the milk, both e" c 
and lamb may he turned out on the pasture of grass, 
rape or rye and oats. At this lime pumpkins are a 
valuable feed for the milking ewes. They may he 
thrown in the pasture in large quantities, letting the 
sheen gnaw at them as they wish. The seeds are 
somewhat: 
to Ihe lambs through openings in a partition made 
POUNDS IX 100 OF TUB CHEMICAL 
Nitrate of soda..../. 
Sulphate of ammonia 
Dried blood . 
Acid phosphate . 
Ground bone . 
Mlunate of potash... 
Nit rogen 
in 
20 
12 
0 
Phos. Acid 
0 
0 
0 
16 
25 
0 
Potash 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
50 
Thus, in order to give an analysis of 10 per cent 
of potash, the mixture must contain 200 lbs. of pot¬ 
ash. and that means 400 lbs. of either the muriate or 
sulphate. In order to obtain the 80 lbs. of nitrogen 
and give three or more different forms, you could use 
nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia, dried blood, 
cottonseed meal and other materials. We can obtain 
the potash by using 400 lbs. of either sulphate or 
muriate. The nitrogen can he obtained through va¬ 
rious combinations. Here is one: 150 lbs. nitrate of 
soda. 150 lbs. sulphate of ammonia and 200 lbs. dried 
blood, or 500 IDs. in all. Half a dozen other combina¬ 
tions could be used; for example, we might include 
Combination Feeder for Sheep. Fig. 177 
by nailing slats 8 or 10 in. apart to the cross pieces. 
Troughs are placed in here for the lambs’ special 
grain ration. This ration consists of bran, cracked 
corn, ground oats and barley, and gluten feed. Racks 
for feeding choice Alfalfa or clover hay are also 
placed inside the creeps. Tile lambs should be in¬ 
duced lo eat a large quantity of food, and continue 
to eat in the same manner during the period of their 
growth. To accomplish this, clean the feed troughs 
thoroughly each morning and change the grain and 
hay supply two or three times daily. Variety in the 
ration will help maintain their appetite. One of the 
things which lambs seem especially fond of is cab¬ 
bage. and its use is t<> he recommended. Salt and 
water should be accessible at all times. If these 
few directions are carefully followed it will he a 
revelation to see the little fellows grow. The care 
of the lamb lays the foundation for profitable sheep. 
New York. n. c. smith. 
