ISO 
the RURAL MEW-¥©BKEB 
rsaboh d 
®()t Sir 
JOTTINGS AT KIRBY HOMESTEAD. i 
_ t 
COL. T. D. CURTIS. * 
_ t 
We threshed onr oats and barley in the fall ( 
and had a huge mow of straw. In cold weather ( 
if stock are stinted in their food, they will eat ] 
straw with considerable greediness, but in a mild , 
winter, like the present, when fed hay, although : 
it may he a little, they will not eat straw. We < 
took paius to cut our grain before it was fully 
ripe and were fortunate iu getting it harvested 
without boing rained on. This straw constituted 
an important share of the winter feed, and what 
to givo it to during the weoke of mild weather, 
was a perplexing question. At last wc concluded 
that the Jersey bull, two years old. must, live on 
straw aud the breeding mare too—not being in 
foal. We could not afford to keep the cows on 
straw nor would it bo wise to confine the young 
stock to this diet. The sheep helped us out of 
our trouble. They would do well on straw if it 
should he supplemented witli a little extra feed. 
In the morning their racks are piled full of straw 
which they pick over through the day. At night 
they are filled np again. 
In the morning all this is cleared out and a 
liberal feeding of turnips is given to them the 
first thing and then the straw. Two weoks before 
lambing time, winch is in March, we intend to 
give them daily a half pint each of oats with the 
turnips, beginning for the first few days with a 
gill. We have an idea that the straw aud tur¬ 
nips are equal iu nutritive value to hay alone— 
especially since we do not require them to eat 
the coarser part of the straw. The oats we think, 
will strengthen the sheep and help fill the ud¬ 
ders with milk ready for the young lambs. If 
this is found not to he the case, then hay will he 
substituted for the straw, before lambing time. 
After the lambs begin to come, then we begin to 
feed hay, continuing the turnips and oats. 
If the sheep were required to eat all of the straw, 
it would take at least three times the hulk of 
Btraw to equal liay, that is, it would take thirty 
pounds or straw to furnish the same amount of 
flesh forming and fattening matter which would 
be contained iu ten of hay. 
If the straw was unripe or damaged by rain, it 
would take a much larger quantity, probably 
forty or fifty pounds of straw. Straw is exceed¬ 
ingly variable in value for fodder. Bright oat or 
barley straw cut when tho heads were just 
turning white, is, in our judgment, and an analy¬ 
sis ought to show it to he so. equal to coarse 
hay, or hay unripe, or hay which is black and 
dainagod from being wetted. This is the condi¬ 
tion of a large percentage of tho so-called stock 
hay. A sheep could not consume such a large 
amount of straw or poor hay in a day, hence 
they should be allowed to select the host portions 
in which there is a larger per ceutagc of nutri¬ 
tive qualities. It is true the turnips are eighty- 
five per cent, water, with less than ten per cent, 
of nutriment; but this watery substance is just 
what the sheep want to help moisten and help to 
assimilate the mass of dry food. Now, i f onr theo¬ 
ry and practice prove successful, we have a home 
market for straw, aud a place for sheep which are 
a blossiug on any farm. A flock of sheep will al¬ 
ways make a rich farm, and moreover they will 
keep it clear of weeds and hushes turning all 
such things into mutton and wool. 
We have two young calves aged five and eight 
weeks, which are pictures of health and con¬ 
tentment. The milk of an Ayrshire cow is divided 
between them, and tho oldest one, a Jersey, gets 
two baulfuls of meal with each feed of milk. 
The other gets one big handful uow, but will get 
two when he is a week older. We began with 
a spoonful to each when they were two weeks old. 
This was stirred into the milk. The meal is wheat 
bran and ground oil-cake, equal parts by measure. 
Milk is tho most natural food for all young ani¬ 
mals and contains all or the properties required 
for their growth and health; but when there is a 
lack of milk, then the most natural and health¬ 
ful food for young calves is wheat bran and oil 
meal. 
Onr calves eacli have a warm woolen blanket 
served out to them, and are kept separate so they 
will not worry each other. A temporary par¬ 
tition was put into tho ox-stall so they can play 
and see each other. They need exercise, and 
seeing each other makes them more contented. 
If you would have animals do well, let their 
minds be at rest. If they are homesick or lone¬ 
some they will not thrive. Our little pets get a 
regular feed of liay three times a day, and they 
expect it, a bright clover lock or a handful of 
nice roweu. __ 
Corn aud oats are now exactly the same price, 
a •penny a pound. Which is the cheapest and 
best food ? That depends on what we want to 
feed. Corn contains eight per cent, more of fat 
forming properties, and oats ten per cent, more 
of flesh-forming elemonts. Oats have five per 
cent more of woody fiber and one per cent more a 
of ash. This is because oats have the thickest a 
hulls or skin. 
To feed cattle for fattening and for milk, mix- s 
ing these grains half and half would undoubt¬ 
edly be t he best. This would be a good combiua- 1 
tion for working horses, or for a horse it was de- ( 
sirablo to put into good condition, as tho excess i 
of fattening matter in tho corn would help to fat- 
tori him quicker ; the more oats the better for a c 
horse driven hard upon the road, as such a horse i 
does not want fatty hut flesh-forming food to 1 
make np for the waste which his Bcrvico creates. 1 
Too much corn is not bcBt for poultry. A por- ! 
i tion of oats mixed with their food would be an 
advantage. Tor fattening bogB corn is obviously 
the best food, but for sows and pigs we want 
the flesh-forming qualities and here we must 
add oats liberally. 
Barley is a stronger food than oats and con¬ 
tains fivo per cent more of fat-forming princi¬ 
ples and three per cent less of flosh-formmg. It 
has less ash and less woody fiber. It is the best 
grain to feed alone to make milk, owing to its 
constituent elements and their particular com¬ 
bination. 
Buckwhoat is not equal to corn in making fat 
by nine per cent, hut in making flesh it is only 
one per ceut leas effective. It is good winter 
food for any store animals, especially pigs and 
cattle. It is good for colts, and most excellent 
for poultry. Both buckwheat and corn con¬ 
tain too much heat (carbon), which is involved 
in the fat-forming parts, to be suitable food in 
hot weather for any heavy feeding ; or for ani¬ 
mals which are worked or driven on the road. 
The same is true of rye which is a stronger 
food than either corn or buckwheat, as it con¬ 
tains Cfl.2 of fat-forming properties, and 11 of 
flesh-forming. This is about one per cent more 
than corn. It. has less woody fiber and this 
makes rye bran a very nntritive food. It con- 
1 tains three and a-haU per cent more fat-forming 
principles than wheat bran aud nearly three per 
1 cent less of woody fibor. More than one-half 
■ of both wheat and rye bran is fat-forming, and 
> more than one-seventh is flesh-producing, 
f jt mast be borne iu mind that in Hie processes 
r of digestion and assimilation of food in the 
r stomach, the relative chemical combinations 
1 change and tho real value of no one kind of 
grain or roots can ho actually determined by 
t analysis. Boots, for instance, have an actual 
¥ value as food far beyond the standard assigned 
them by the chemist. The wheat brati fed our 
r calves has an important valuo not given by the 
1 analysis, as it helps to supply the waste material 
- which is the woody fiber and ash absolutely ue- 
e ecssary to feed tho iute«tines, aud make the 
I necessary distension and action in them without 
- which the animals would suffer. The same is 
k true of oats when fed to a horse in such quan- 
o titles that tho animal does not partake of coarse 
o food. Buckwheat bran is a valuable auxiliary 
» in caring for stock because of its waste material 
l- -which is just as essential for health as the con- 
centrated food. 
i. Wc can buy this at our mill for $1(1 a ton. Wo 
it have been trying to determine which would bo 
o the most profitable, oats at *1-0 a ton, or^buck- 
i- wheat bran at $16. Tho value of the brau will 
e depend on the amonnt of coarse flour iu it. We 
e ijke buckwheat bran for colts, and cows giving 
I- m iik. it clears colts of worms aud will induce 
II a good flow of milk. Au analysis of this bran 
11 will not determine its general valuo except of 
the sample analyzed. The miller does that. 
Tho finer bran is ground the better. The finer 
particles are more readily digested, and dissolved 
*" by the gastric juice. 
are very hard to dry up, and ofteu never go dry, 
and that their flow of milk ia not only continu¬ 
ous but very uniform throughout the grazing 
season. These and snob are the Ilolstcins. 
It is not claimed that tho breed exists in its 
purity in Holstein —an ancient dutchy subse¬ 
quently a province of Denmark and now an¬ 
nexed to Prussia and the German empire—bnt 
tho early importers of these well-bred Holland 
cattle to this country, learned of a tradition that 
a great improvement in the Dutch cattle was 
brought about, perhaps centuries ago, by the 
introduction of cattle from Holstein, so they 
gave them that name. 
Many of the'recent importations of cattle from 
Holland have not been made with groat care in 
selecting, and the cows show it painfully iu a 
lack of stature and symmetry. Nevertheless 
they ai*e excellent milkers and'much liked by 
those that have them, and are admitted to 
record in tlio Holstein herdbook. 
BELTED OR SHEETED CATTLE. 
These are a breed of Dutch cattle never called 
Holsteins, though for aught that appears to the 
contrary, they have just as good a right to tho 
name. They are black and white also, but 
marked as if black animals bad broad white holts 
or sheets around their bodies. All are not thus 
belted with white, hut many are and these only 
are retained as breeders, hence the markings 
have become fixed. The Belted cattle possess 
many or the valuable qualities or the BO-caUed 
Holsteins. They are of fail- size, are very uni¬ 
formly good milkers and make good beef; so 
that iu usefulness they compare favorably with 
Shorthorn or Holstein grades. The interest in 
them depends upon the perfection of their mark¬ 
ings. Those who have animals for sale of either 
of these breeds would do well to advertise. 
^Iicqj fusbanki). 
A NEW INDUSTRY. 
DIFFERENT KINDS OF DUTCH CATTLE. 
A correspondent in Jamestown, N. Y., asks 
to have the difference explained between the 
Dutch belted or sheeted cattle and the “ Hol- 
.steins." Views differ somewhat, in regard to the 
origin and qualities ol the cattle of Holland, 
The Dutch arc excellent farmers and dairy folks, 
and such they have been for centuries. They 
have a breed of cows which is so good that there 
has been little inducement for them to go out of 
the country for fresh blood to improve them in 
dairy qualities. Tho so-called, native cattle of 
Holland are, as a general thing, black and white, 
although red and red and white ones occasionally 
occur. 
There are many herds iu which only black and 
while cattle aro to be found, and in the breeding 
of which great pains have been taken for several 
generations. The characteristics of these oattle 
are as follows: size, very large; aptitude to 
fattin, good, exhibited in the “ handling ” qual¬ 
ities of tho hide, softness of the coat and in the 
presence of fat in young females and bulls; 
form, symmetrical, on the whole, yet failing in 
some points regarded as important by Shorthorn 
breeders. Milking qualities, unsurpassed in ab¬ 
solute quantity of milk, which is of good quality. 
Fifty to eighty pounds of milk a day being about 
the range of the yield of good cows. It is a 
characteristic of the cows generally that they 
Were our children, reared on the compara¬ 
tively treeless plains of the West, transported to 
some heavily timbered country, they would study 
to utilize the straight shafts that are allowed to 
go to waste or are wantonly burned to make way 
for a coming crop. When a man comes to the 
West, much of whoee life has been spent in 
Eastern towns the suburbs or which would sel¬ 
dom furnish even scanty pasturage for the fam¬ 
ily horse and how, he is struck with the millions 
of acres of choice pasturage annually going to 
waste, and tho query is: Cannot this pasturage 
bo utilized ? 
It is believed there is capital enough in the 
East, earning but a low interest, to stock these 
plains with sheep. It is conceded that the 
United States furnish no better range for sheep 
than can lie found in Kansas aud Nebraska. 
Most of tho sheep in the country aro in the 
hands of wealthy stock-men, who own from 1,000 
to 10,000 head. While I write, a “prairie 
schooner” (covered wagon.) is trundling bv; 
behind it follow a few head of choice cattle. In 
this way. cattle arc more evenly distributed than 
sheep. Yet among the settlors who have been a 
few years in the State, there is a feverish desire 
to possess a flock. This desire is based upon the 
fact that this country is naturally adapted to 
sheep raising. Iowa, Missouri and Illinois can 
surpass us in raising corn, perhaps Iowa can in 
wheat, though wo are loath to own it, but this 
surpasses them as a stock,State. Wo aro too far 
from the seaboard to make grain shipping profit¬ 
able: hut we can advantageously pack our rich 
pasturage in wool-sacks for shipment or, better 
Btill, manufacture woolen goods hero and ship 
our surplus ware. The world knows how 
droughths aud “ hatofuls” militate against grain 
raising but never eheck sheep husbandry; for 
grasshoppers do not eat grass. 
Agricultural implements, from a plow to a 
harvester or thresher, are sold to our farmers 
u on umo;” thus allowing tho judicious farmer 
to avail himself of the best tools which aro made, 
while they are paying for themselves. .Sheep 
Bold “on time” would bo ft more profitable in¬ 
dustry, because: 
1. It would not involve tho outlay of so large 
a capital before a dollar can be had iu return. 
•2. Machinery is liable to he superseded by 
“improvements:” nothing can supersede sheep 
for wool aud mutton. 
3. Machinery unsold at the end of the season, 
depreciates in value. Sheep unsold at tho end 
of the season, can be gathered on a grand range 
and continually increase in value until tho next 
selling season. 
4 Drought and hoppers lessen the sales of 
agricultural implements, but would correspon¬ 
dingly increase the sale of sheep. A systematic 
purchase, importation, and sale would bo the 
most economic way tho homesteaders could pro¬ 
cure shoep. The demand now is simply enor¬ 
mous and for the business man, with capital, 
there is au abundant harvest. It. H. Crane. 
Harlan Co., Neb. 
flic I'oultnj Jarir. 
SPRING CHICKENS. 
HENRY HALES. 
As the spring approaches, the younger mem¬ 
bers of the farmer’s family—if not, perchance, 
their mother—aro laying plans for their annual 
employment—or rather enjoyment—of raising 
young chickens. 
Remembrance of former years will bring to 
mind some individual hens that showed certain 
peculiarities; one did not keep steadily to hei 
work of hatching ; another, perhaps, broke her 
eggs ; while others behaved so quietly as to allow 
you to lift them off tho nest, examine the eggs, 
and replace thorn again, without any such an¬ 
noyance as some that peeked at your hands till 
they tore tho skin. Those that sat well, brought 
out the most chicks and took tho greatest caro 
of them, will ho tho first to have tho privilege of 
sitting again, should they so desire; and tho 
cross old hen that is suspected of killing other 
hen’s chicks, will he Hhut up when broody, till 
she is cured of the fever. Then the eggs of 
those hens that laid best, must he saved to be set: 
also some of different breedB, to be compared 
for their special merits, not forgetting those of 
tho strongest aud hir float of tho flock. 
Those who have many out-huildiugs, will bear 
in mind to put nests in qniot corners, so that 
their favorite birds may lay where they will want 
them to sit. This makes easy work for those 
who have to look after them ; for a hen gener¬ 
ally keeps well to the nest she ba.B been accus¬ 
tomed to lay in, especially if it. iH in a quiet, cozy 
corner, that every hon caunot find out. 
Do not allow the impulses of a few fine days, 
in very early spring, to lead you to set hens too 
early. TliiB is a poor practice. April is early 
enough to have the chicks hatched out, as wo 
sometimes have such cold weather in March, that 
it is a hard matter to raiso chicks, uuless they 
are allowed to got around a kitchen fire during 
stormy weather, and are put in a very warm 
place at night. . 
Unless yon want a large proportion of cockerels, 
do not set all the largest eggs you can pick ont. 
There are no means known by which tho sex of 
eggs can, with certainty, be determined. Al¬ 
though mauy have thought some signs indicated 
the sex, yet, after repeated fan- trials, all these 
indications have entirely failed with me, except 
the ono which follows : with regard to the eggs 
of most of the feathered kingdom, if >ou pick 
the biggest out of a nest, tlu-y aro the ones that 
generally produce males, especially if they hap- 
! pen to he tho first laid. Even in a canary's nest, 
s it is noticeable that tho first egg laid is very 
J often the largest ; the young from it is the first 
J hatched out; keeps ahead of its comrades; is 
• tho first to quit the nest, and tho first to sing- 
NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL CONGRESS. 
The session of tho National Agricultural Con¬ 
gress was continued on Wednesday, and the 
morning meeting was occupied with discussions 
of the question whether four years was long 
enough to fit a young man to he a scientist, 
with part of the time devoted to manual labor. 
The discussion embraced tho work and results 
of agricultural colleges and tho training of bu¬ 
rners at IheBe schools. 
Col. Curtis of New York, led off with a sharp 
criticism on agricultural schools aud contend- d 
that they were so conducted that they did not 
make scientific farmers or fanners of any kmd, 
hut rather perverted the tastes of tho farmers’ 
sous and sent them to the cities or failed to bo 
unite manual labor and study that one should 
inspire the other, and both work together, the 
bauds helping the brain and the brain guiding 
the bauds. Hence, unless they changed then 
system they would really he a damage to the 
farmer rather than any benefit. Ho said much 
more iu the same vein which called out form - o 
replies from Messrs. Warfield, Hoyt, Bland, 
Brewer, and Purnell, who were competed 
with various colleges. They contended that 1 he 
agricultural colleges were yet in their infancy, 
and time must be given to allow them to renin y 
the evils which might exist. President 1d»- 
nlll, of Delaware, took tho ground that it waa 
absurd to expect any one school to'attempt 
to teach everything; that colleges should b 
established with different aims and courses o 
study to accommodate tho peculiar views awl pro¬ 
posed avocations of all clauses or students, i 
may prove a positive advantage, therefore, * 
so ranch diversity and contrariety of views j ■ 
existed among the founders of these mdiib 
institutions. . 
Trof. Brewer of Yale College saul on 
cnlty was that hoys come too yonng anil oo - 
