1902 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
459 
SILAGE FOR SHEEP. 
I have been feeding 50 sheep one fodder¬ 
ing a day of silage the past Winter, but 
have an idea that it has not agreed with 
them. I would like to hear from those 
who have fed silage to sheep, either with 
good or bad results, and in all cases giving 
an account of the condition of the silage 
so fed. I want to know whether to plan 
to feed it next Winter. I would also like 
to hear from anyone who has fed silaged 
sweet corncobs from corn factories to 
sheep, giving results of same. Is Hun¬ 
garian a first-class sheep feed? h. o. b. 
Harrison, Me. 
The use of silage as a sheep feed has 
been attended with rather variable re¬ 
sults. Fifteen years ago silage was 
thought quite unsatisfactory as a sheep 
feed. Of recent years it has been fed to 
a limited extent, but not always with 
success. A. M. Welsh, of Ionia, Mich., 
has fed silage on a large scale to sheep 
being fitted for the market, with con¬ 
siderable success. He relies largely on 
silage as his profit-making food. At the 
Michigan Experiment Station sugar 
beets and rutabagas were fed in com¬ 
parison with corn silage, to fattening 
lambs. Without giving any details of 
the experiment, in the trial where sugar 
beets were compared with silage, the re¬ 
sults rather favored the beets, but where 
rutabagas were fed the silage gave 
slightly the best returns. The use of 
these succulent foods reduced the cost 
of feeding from 25 to 40 per cent. At 
Lebanon, Ind., the American Canning 
Company has a cannery, and the past 
Winter they fed a lot of lambs with si¬ 
lage made from the refuse from the 
cannery, essentially corn husks and pea- 
vines, each of which make very superior 
silage. In a communication to me re¬ 
cently on the results they secured in 
feeding the silage to lambs, they write: 
“We fed grain with it (silage). The 
lambs did not improve as we expected, 
and it was not a success.” It is the 
opinion of the writer that silage should 
not be fed heavily to sheep, but rather 
as one would feed roots, along with hay. 
In such cases rather better returns 
might be looked for than where silage 
is the main roughage. Corncobs contain 
but little nutriment, and represent a 
very low-grade food, such as one could 
not afford to give serious consideration 
to as a food, either in the dry form or as 
by-product of a cannery. Hungarian is 
not a first-class sheep feed, and could 
hardly take the place of clover or corn 
stover. Sheep will gain in weight on it, 
but will not do as well as on most other 
standard hays and coarse fodder. Feeds 
of the millet class, when heavily fed, 
will promote scours in some cases. 
C. S. PLUMB. 
FARMING IN THE RED RIVER VALLEY 
Part VII. 
Poultry raising on a grain farm is one 
of the things that usually receives a 
very small share of the attention due it, 
and we claim no exception to the rule. 
Only enough chickens are raised each 
year to supply our own table, and a few 
turkeys are raised to sell. Our limited 
market is, however, easily overstocked, 
and the business is not as satisfactory 
as in former years. Sixty chickens and 
34 turkeys have been hatched up to date, 
June 9. The largest flock of turkeys we 
ever raised was 78, several years ago. 
Turkey raising has many drawbacks. 
Skunks and dogs disturb the hens while 
sitting, and destroy their eggs, and we 
have had several turkeys eaten by rats 
when two or three weeks old. The tur¬ 
key eggs are set under hens mostly, and 
they take fully as good care of the 
young birds as the turkey hens. After 
hatching the hens are confined in rain¬ 
proof coops, and when the turkeys are 
three or four days old the hens are tied 
to the coop with a long string, and al¬ 
lowed limited range. They are not al¬ 
lowed free range until three or four 
months old. The young turkeys are fed 
bread, soaked in water, for the first six 
weeks entirely. After this some ground 
barley is mixed with the bread, and 
when they are two months old ground 
oats or barley may be fed safely. Whole 
grain is sure death to them until they 
are at least three months old. It might 
be said that the turkey business is in 
charge of the lady of the house. 
The plot of ground retained for a 
garden is well drained and protected 
from hot south winds by a few rows of 
willow bushes. Only common vege¬ 
tables, such as beets, carrots, onions, 
squashes, etc., are grown. Tomatoes do 
well in our soil, and mangels have been 
grown weighing 30 pounds. Celery does 
not bleach well, and the soil is too 
heavy and season too short for melons. 
A combined hand drill and cultivator is 
used, and would be hard to get along 
without. Potatoes, corn, squashes, cu¬ 
cumbers and cabbage are planted so that 
they may be cultivated with a horse ma¬ 
chine until the garden is fenced. Squash 
seed is first planted in boxes and then 
the plants are transplanted to the open 
ground later. The bugs are much less 
troublesome when handled in this way. 
A four-foot wire fence, two-inch mesh, 
is put up every Summer, after things 
get well started, and taken down in the 
Fall. It is necessary to keep poultry 
and rabbits away from the plants. 
Twelve acres of fodder corn have been 
drilled the past week. The ground is 
prepared the same as for potatoes. A 
common shoe drill is used, and it is 
drilled in rows three feet apart and 
about 2V 2 inches apart in the row. Four 
rows can be sown at once with an ll- 
foot drill. Small strips of board are 
tacked in the bottom of the grain box, 
closing all the cups except those in use. 
We have been very successful raising 
corn this way and besides it saves buy¬ 
ing a corn planter. We are particular 
to get the rows straight and even dis¬ 
tance apart on account of cultivation. 
Last year we had in 20 acres, planted 
June 13 and harvested September 1, the 
corn being from six to eight feet high 
at that time. In drilling this corn the 
drill was set for five bushels of oats to 
the acre, and at this rate it required 
about three pecks of corn to the acre. 
The variety grown is the Giant White 
Fodder, the seed being Iowa grown. The 
field will be harrowed, cultivated and 
weeded with the same machinery used 
for potatoes. j. d. b. 
Wolverton, Minn. 
TURKEYS; HOW TO CARE FOR THEM 
If a beginner, select three or four of 
the best shaped hens you can find in a 
large flock and mate to a gobbler from 
another flock that is not related to the 
hens. Never inbreed turkeys; if you 
raise any young birds at all from the 
inbred stock, they will be worthless as 
breeders for the next season. As to the 
age of breeding stock, yearling and two- 
year-old hens produce the most vigor¬ 
ous offspring, and hens of that age will 
lay more eggs in a season than older 
birds. Feeding the breeding stock has 
everything to do with the number of 
eggs laid and their fertility. Feed very 
sparingly of grain, as fat turkeys do not 
lay fertile eggs, nor many of any kind. 
Give little or no corn to the breeders; 
buckwheat will keep them in better con¬ 
dition, and cut clover is very good. A 
head of cabbage is greatly relished by 
them, and is one of the best things you 
can feed them through the Winter 
months. Give them all the grit tney 
can eat once a week. Keep your turkeys 
as tame as possible; they are easier 
cared for, and will not wander so far 
away. Do not keep turkeys with or 
near other poultry. Do not let them run 
around the barnyard or farm buildings, 
and keep away from stagnant pools of 
water. 
An open shed with wire netting front 
facing the south, situated in an upland 
pasture, makes an ideal place for rais¬ 
ing tui'keys. May 15 is early enough to 
hatch the first poults in the Northern 
States. The ground is generally very 
cold and damp previous to that time. 
Feed the young for the first time when 
36 hours old, and the first food should 
be grit in some form. Sea shells make 
the best of grit for the young, and 
crushed clamshells are very good when 
the turkeys are four months old or 
older. The young should have but very 
little water till after they are two 
months old. I have raised 75 per cent 
of a flock of young turkeys to maturity 
that did not have a drop of water till 
they were over a month old. A tea¬ 
spoonful of Douglas Mixture added to 
every quart of drinking water is very 
beneficial; it prevents cholera and 
diarrhoea, and is a great help in destroy¬ 
ing tapeworms. Tapeworms kill more 
turkeys than most people have any idea 
of. Ground pumpkin seeds mixed with 
their food is as good a remedy as I have 
ever tried for tapeworms. Cleanliness 
in every way is absolutely necessary. 
Remove the droppings at least three 
times per week. Always cover the drop¬ 
ping boards with road dust or dry earth. 
Have a dust box five or six feet square 
and one foot deep, with a roof or cover 
that will keep out all storm. A good 
dust box is of untold value in keeping 
down lice. Lice are sure death to young 
turkeys, and every means of keeping 
them down must be used. See that the 
sitters are free from them, and dust 
three or four times while incubating 
with some good insect powder. Remem¬ 
ber you can easily overfeed the young 
ones, and that means death to them. In 
a good dry season insects are always 
plenty, and the young turkeys need no 
feed at all after the first week. Always 
see that your flock is home at night, 
and made secure from both human and 
animal thieves. I think a mink is the 
worst animal that troubles poultry; it 
will kill 40 or 50 turkeys in one night, 
running from one to another as fast as 
it can go, giving each a bite in the neck 
that soon kills it. The skunk can do no 
harm if there are bottoms in the coops 
and houses. If desirous of March chick¬ 
ens when there are no broody hens, 
and you do not possess an incubator, 
select a box two feet square and 1% foot 
deep; make a good nest in it, place one 
dozen nest eggs therein. Then introduce 
the turkey hen to this nest and fasten 
her in it, so she is not able to stand up 
in the nest. Remove from nest once a 
day to feed and water. In three or four 
days the turkey will go back on the 
nest of her own free will, and will sit 
as patiently as an eight-day clock. A 
turkey will easily cover 25 hens’ eggs. 
h. m. r. 
EMPIRE 
which tells all about the 
Easy 
Running 
CREAM SEPARATOR- 
If you own cows it will pay you to 
read the book, whether you want 
a separator or not. Let us send it. 
U. S.BUTTER EXTRACTOR CO. 
Bloomfield, N. J. 
Save$ 10 per Cow 
EVERT YEAR OF USE. 
De Laval Cream Separators 
Prices, $50 to $800. 
"Alpha” and “Baby"styles . Send for Catalogue 
THE DE LAVAL SEPARATOR CO., 
Randolph and Canal Streets, I 74 Cortlandt Street, 
CHICAGO. I NKW YORK 
The Superior Cream Extractor 
“It (rets the Cream.” Twenty per cent 
more than by setting In pans. 
WATER IS NOT MIXED WITH MILK, 
therefore. Impure water does not taint 
the cream, and the skimmed milk Is left 
pure and sweet. We pay the Freight. 
Descriptive circulars, reliable testi¬ 
monials and prices mailed on request. 
Write to-day. Can’t get In touch with 
such a money-maker too qnlck. 
Superior Fence Machine Co., 
188 Grand River Avenue, Detroit, Mich. 
BALES 
15 TONS 
A DAY 
The Gem Full-Circle Baler, lightest, strongest, cheapest 
haler. Made of wrought steel. Operated by 1 or 2 horses. 
Bales 10 to 15 tons a day. Sold on 5 days’ trial. Catalogue 
free. Address GEO- ERXELco ? Q„i ncy< n |. 
DRILLING 
Machines 
Over TO sties and styles, for drilling either deep or 
shallow wells In any kind of soil or rock. Mounted 
on wheels or on sills. With engines or horse powers. 
3trong, simple and durable. Any meohanlo oaa 
operate them easily. Send for oatalog. 
WILLIAMS BROS.. Ithaca, X. V. 
Brightwood Silo Coating 
w /c% R f proof 
Will not scale. Perfect preservative for Inside of 
silos. May be applied to new or old wood. Crane’s 
Prolific Ensilage Corn (20 tons ensilage or 180 
bushels ears per acre). Write for prloes. 
THE AGRICULTURAL STORE, Springfield, Mass. 
LIGHTNING WELL MACHY 
IS THE STANDARD 
STf AM PUMPS AIR LIFTS. $.fl / 
GASOLINE ENGINES WM 
WRITE FOR CIRCULAR EE ; |S^o 
THE AMERICAN WELL WORKS 
AURORA.ILL.-CHICAGO.- DALLAS.TEX 
HORSE COLIC, 
Distemper, Founder. Pneu¬ 
monia, etc., as well as all 
forms of Lameness, Contract¬ 
ed Cord, Curb, Splint, etc., 
are instantly relieved, and in¬ 
variably cured by the use of 
Tuttle’s Elixir. 
Satisfaction guaranteed or 
refunded. Used and 
by the Adams Ex¬ 
press Company. Used by leading breeders and 
turfmen everywhere. Has saved and cured many 
valuable horses. Hay do likewise for you. 
TUTTLE S FAMILY ELIXW cures 
bruises, etc. Kills pain instantly, 
“Veterinary Experience” r if ER- 
cures rheumatism, sprains, 
Our 100- page book, 
FREE. 
Dr. S. A. TUTTLE, 30 Beverly St, Boston, Mass. 
Beware of so-called Elixirs —none genuine bat Tuttle**, 
Avoid ail blisters; they offer only temporary relief it any. 
Cost of Feed Reduced 
ONE-HALF. 
Flow of Milk Increased 
ONE-FOURTH 
BY USING 
Green Mountain 
SILOS. 
Catalogs of Silos and Dairy 
Goods ssnt free on request. 
Moseley & Stoddard Mfg. Co. 
Wanted. RUTLAND. VT. 
A Literal Proposition. 
Thrice-a-Week World and ) $| gR 
The Rural New- Y orker ) i teak 
One of our special offers Is the Thrice-a-Week 
World and The Rural New-Yorker combined 
for $1.65 a year. By this arrangement you are 
sure to obtain all the news of the day, and Infor¬ 
mation of special Interest to the farm and home 
at the same time. The Thrice-a-Weet World Is a 
clean, reliable newspaper, and the low figure at 
which It Is offered, in conjunction with The Rural 
New-Yorker, should make the combination un¬ 
usually attractive. 
THE MIETZ & WEISS 
Kerosene Engines. Sizes, 1 to 60 H.P 
Cheapest and Safest Power 
Known. For pumping and 
electric lighting, grinding 
corn, separating cream, 
sawing wood, and all power 
purposes. Awarded Gold 
Medal Pan-American Exp., 
Buffalo. 1901. Send tor Cat. 
A. MIETZ, 
128 Mott Street. New York. 
CHARTER 
Gasoline Engine 
I Nr 11 “J Anyone 
UULI/ For Any Purpose 
Statlonaries, Portables, Engines 
and Pumps, Holsters, 
Sawing Outfits. 
Send for Illustrated Catalogue and 
Testimonials. State yonr Power Needs. 
Charter Gas Engine Co., Box 26, Sterling, III. 
Dutton’s 
Improved 
Knife and 
Tool 
Grinder 
$ 2.50 each 
SAMPSON 
TOBACCO PRESS. 
CLARK’S 
DOUBLK- 
ACTION 
Cutaway Harrow will easily move 
15.000 tons of earth one foot In 
CLARK'S SULKY 
Gang Disk 
Plow, 
From 2 to 8 feet. 
For horse or 
Steam Power. 
CUTAWAY HARROW CO., HI66ANUM, CONN. 
