1902 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
175 
ANGORA GOATS IN MAINE. 
On page 95 of The R. N.-Y. T. H. H. 
would like to hear from those who have 
"had experience with Angora goats in 
a climate where the thermometer goes 
down to 20 and 30 degrees below zero.” 
Our experience is limited to one Win¬ 
ter. Though our climate is a severe 
one, there have only been a few days 
in this section this year when the ther¬ 
mometer has reached near that mark, 
hut our flock of over 200 Angoras have 
all stood the cold satisfactorily. Never¬ 
theless, when out in the yard in the 
very coldest weather they stand curled 
up, and are visibly affected more than 
our sheep are under the same condi¬ 
tions. A few of the very coldest days 
we shut the Angoras in the barn. In 
this way they are comfortable, and it is 
apparently no inconvenience to them. 
This is the first Winter for our flock in 
a climate where snow covers the ground, 
and we expect that next year they will 
stand the cold even better than they 
have this. Since they were so satisfac¬ 
tory in clearing up bushes and weeds 
from our pastures, we are largely to in¬ 
crease our flock in the early Spring. 
Our experience with Angora goats 
pioves that they are far more effective 
in clearing pastures Ox bushes and weeds 
than our sheep are. Even our horned 
Dorset sheep, who will eat a larger va¬ 
riety of weeds than any other we have 
kept, never touch alders, sweet fern, 
running juniper (ground hemlock; 
hazel bushes, hardhack or scrub oak, 
and rarely taste Canada thistles; they 
l ave, however, kept down the sprouts 
from the White birch stumps, but to 
compel them materially to affect any 
of the others it would be necessary to 
keep them in such a starving condition 
that it would not be profitable. But our 
Angoras eat all the above in preference 
lo grass. We have watched them care¬ 
fully when grazing, by going among the 
flocks, and have observed that they eat 
very little grass when bushes or weeds 
can be obtained. Even kids a month 
old will nibble away at the leaves of 
the very bushes which our sheep and 
cattle neglect. The flesh of Angora 
goats is about the same as that of mut¬ 
ton; it is generally sold in the markets 
in the different cities as mutton. The 
fleece is usually sold in this section to 
the Goodall Worsted Mills, Sanford, Me. 
This firm imports about 1,000,000 pounds 
each year. The Massachusetts Mohair 
Plush Co., of Boston, Mass., also are 
large consumers of mohair from Angora 
goats. The price is usually higher than 
for wool; sometimes double the price. 
Angora does shear from 2% to five 
pounds, and as they are graded up, 
flocks will average to shear more than 
they do now. Our flock last Summer 
was about 250, but is less now, for we 
have sold uite a number. j. h. r. 
Portland, Me. 
Sheep Washing Abandoned. 
Sheep washing in this part of the 
State is almost a thing of the past. The 
only inducement for washing is the wide 
difference in the price paid for washed 
and unwashed wool, making a differ¬ 
ence of one-third in the price. As wash¬ 
ing is usually done there is not this dif¬ 
ference, and farmers wash because they 
have this difference in the price by the 
practice. It is not done because they 
like it, nor for the good of the sheep. 
Sheep washing, to be really a benefit to 
the wool, should be done when the 
weather is warm enough to warm the 
water, which should be of a soft nature, 
usually creek water. The sheep, after 
washing, should oe placed on a clover 
pasture and have a run of eight or 10 
flays before shearing. The advantage 
in shearing without washing is that it 
can be done much earlier in the season 
than to wait for washing and drying. 
I'his enables the wool to get sufficient 
length to give some protection to the 
sheep during fly time. It gives the 
lambs a much better chance to nurse, 
and especially in lambing time it en¬ 
ables the little fellows to help them¬ 
selves without the aid of the shepherd. 
When sheep are washed there are al¬ 
ways some fleeces that are not well done, 
and when the buyer throws these out as 
unwashed there is dissatisfaction, the 
seller thinking the buyer is taking ad¬ 
vantage of him. For these and other 
reasons we have abandoned the prac- 
tice of washing sheep. We shear our 
sheep now early in April, keep them in 
a warm stable for a while, and find it 
much less trouble and better for both 
sheep and lambs than when we used to 
wait until May and June to do the work. 
Bellefontaine, O. geo. a. henry. 
Short Horse Notes. 
Braiding the Mane. —I can improve 
on Pierre de Soucy’s mode of treating a 
stubborn mane (page 122). Simply be¬ 
gin braiding back of ear with a three- 
strand braid and at every turn bring 
down and braid into the over strand 
a section of the mane, which gives you 
a continuous braid to the withers, where 
you secure the end with string, s. c. c. 
Burdette, N. Y. 
Feeding Straw. —I note on page 121 
an article entitled ‘‘Cheap Horse Win¬ 
tering,” by D. C. B., Farmer, N. Y. He 
says: “When you feed straw feed 
straw.” My experience is opposed to 
that way of feeding. The best of hay 
fed continually is not eaten so well as 
it is when a variety of food is given, 
and indigestion and loss of appetite do 
not occur so often when hay is given 
as part of the feed. I think a better 
plan is to fill the mangers at night with 
straw and in the morning feed hay. Ani¬ 
mals will not thrive so well on one kind 
of food as on a variety. w. H. o. 
Clyde, N. Y. 
More About Baby Pigs. 
I wish to tell Prof. Plumb how we 
raised two baby pigs. They had been 
nursed by the sow for a few days, until 
she was injured so that she would not al¬ 
low two of the teats to be touched by the 
pigs. The remaining live or six wOre all 
right, but two were doomed to starve un¬ 
less fed by hand. We used fresh cow’s 
milk, warm, but diluted with warm 
water about one-fourth. We tried hold¬ 
ing each pig and feeding with spoon. This 
proved too slow, but after they got a taste 
they were ready to grab at anything that 
had milk on it. We then twisted a cotton 
rag to about the size of the little finger 
and as long as one’s hand. This was laid 
in a pan or old skillet, and the warm milk 
poured tn it. When the rag was saturated 
one end was put in the pig’s mouth, with 
its nose in the milk, and it would begin 
sucking at once, and continue till the milk 
was used up, unless it lost its hold; then 
we would put the rag in its mouth again. 
Sometimes, as there were only two, we 
would give each one an ena of the rag, and 
they would pull and suck, then push their 
noses down in the milk and saturate the 
rag, then continue the process until the 
milk was finished. We gave them about 
a pint at a time, and had to feed four or 
five times a day and twice at night, for a 
week; then we increased the amount and 
did not feed at night after bedtime. The 
pigs did well till weaning time; then ate 
with the other pigs. This was a very 
simple but efficient plan, and succeeded. 
Rhea Co., Tenn. h. l. r. 
FARMERS’ 
HANDY 
WAGON 
CO., 
OF 
SAGINAW, 
MICH. 
WISE MAN’S 
WAGON. 
The man who has had experience 
in running a wagon knows that it 
is the wheels that determine the 
iife of the wagon itself. Oar 
STEEL 
WHEELS 
have given a new lease of life to thousands of old 
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ELECTRIC WHEEL CO., Box 88, Quincy, Illinois. 
ELECTRIC 
Electric 
BEFORE BUYINGS ' 11 ” 10 . 
A NEW HARNESS 
200 Page 111- 
ustratedCat- 
' lng 
t sli 
fnll de¬ 
scription and prices of all kinds of 
double harness and save 25 per cent. 
King Harness Co. 510 Church St., Ow«go,N.Y. 
BUGGIES & harness 
" - . This $50 
iopiinaa 
$28 
II CAN BUY OF US AT FACTORY'PRICES 
wJ will L7i la< ‘ 1 ® ,, 8—ISurreys—Wsgons—All Kindsof H ARNESS 
x. . 11 to you a vehicle or harness as cheap as dealers 
n \ t e, . r ? 0 °^ s car-load lots. Don't pay profits to iniddiemen. 
" work 1 s all high-grade, correct style, a nd elegantly finished. 
Send ED C C niTII n7w|r Sho ' v,,, K ’"Wsl line 
AH Work Guaranteed and shipped on Approval. 
CONSUMERS CARRIAGE & M’F’G. CO. 
232So. DcxpluineH Street. CHICAGO. ILL. 
No. 2094. 
Extension Top Surrey 
Price #1)2 .15 
Shipment from Columbus 
C.C.& H.C. 
1^’—*'■‘7- 
M&y We Ship This 
Surrey to You? 
We are shipping buggies, phaetons, surreys and other high grade 
carriages direct froin our factory to customers in every corner of the 
country. May we ship one to you? We want to convince every carriage 
buyer that our system of selling direct will save him money. We know 
that when he sees the vehicle he will be more than convinced. 
For the purpose of introduction, we will agree to ship any carriage in 
our catalogue with the distinct understanding that if it is not all that you 
expect it to be, it can be returned and we will pay freight charges both ways 
Our prices are thirty per cent lower than those of local dealers because we 
SAVE TWO PROFITS 
to the buyer—the jobber’s profit and the dealer’s profit. We charge net 
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—** as to quality and workmanship. 
We also sell at factory prices the largest assort¬ 
ment of harness, robes and other horse accessories 
to be found in America. An illustrated catalogue 
describes in detail the carriages and harness. It 
fiT IS ^ be mailed free to any address on request. 
THE COLUMBUS CARRIACE AND HARNESS CO. 
No. 301 Surrey Harness. Prioe *15.85 Jp/<>. Itoi'sk \ Writ, to nearest office. ^ COLI MB 1^8,^).^ 
FROM FACTORYMm YOU I fl 
with just a manufacturer’s 
profit added, saving you 
what the jobber and dealer 
have been making. Wef 
manufacture in our own 
W 
rtut— 
factory every job] 
we offer, and we make them 
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Will supply 
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best metal 
wheels 
for your old 
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or complete 
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wheels. 
30 Days’ Free Trial. 
Pay when pleased. Send back if displeased. We take the risk. Our 
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KALAMAZOO CARRIAGE & HARNESS MFG. CO., Station K, KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN. 
OUR ADVANCE.AGENT 
Double Board Hardened Steel Plow, hard as glass all over. 
The beat plow on earth at any price. 14 lu fl() 60 
We have other 16 inch plows for $10.00. Guaranteed to 
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of Buggies at Old Prices; Steel Range $24; 
Disc Harrows $18jSulky and Gang Plows, 
Listers, Lever Harrows, Hancock l»lse 
_ 1 lows. lOOO other things. Ailkargulns. 
Castor-Coulter HApG0 ° D PLOW CO.. Box 81 Alton, III. 
K ,’° W , The only Plmo Factory In the United States 
$l.dU extra. selling direct to the farmer 
DRIVING A BARGAIN 
-—-AT LONG RANGE-* 
m 
11 
You do exactly this when you send your money away for a buggy or car- 
| na *eyou have never seen. Whether you get a bargain or not depends not 
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m our Plan? Well, we have such confidence both in you and in our Split 
j Hickory Vehicles, to please you, that we ship anywhere on 
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Hucli it up: take it home and test it. Com„are it with the bue.iea your 
.. , ., . ... , neighbors have paid considerable more for, and if not satisfied v™, i,!; . 
the best bargain of your life at the end of 30 days vou can send it back to us without oavin/nlfl! w 
°|. wha t material they a, : e made, and we know they will stand the test. Our large new catalog,tdl™-f ctUre our own goods. We 
mammoth line of buggies, surreys, carriages r _. V, largcmrw catalogue describes and gives prices of our 
and harness. It is free. Send for it at once. OhlO C0Lrri0Lge Mfg. Co., Station 39 Cil\Cil\n&.tiQ 
- 7 '" 
