6i8 
THE RURAL 
NEW-YORKER 
August 26 
Live Stockand Dairy 
OLD SOWS FOR BREEDERS. 
An Iowa Man Talks. 
Using Young oows. — I once asked a 
man who spends his time riding over 
the country buying butcher stuff for the 
shop that he and his brother own, 
whether he liked his business. He said 
yes, then added that he supposed any¬ 
body liked a business that pays well. 
That certainly is true in a general sense, 
for we all like to make money; for that 
reason, I am interested in hogs and 
everything that is written about them. 
I read with interest the article in a re¬ 
cent R. N.-Y., written ny a Kentuckian, 
about the hog being the poor man’s 
stock. In tne main, the article is time¬ 
ly, and the advice tnat he gives about 
feed and care is especially good. But I 
would differ with him on a few points, 
and especially where he advises always 
to breed from young sows, and never to 
save the old sows over. 
I am situated in the center of the 
greatest hog-producing State in the 
Union, and in one of the very best coun¬ 
ties in the State. Instead of 40 to 50 
hogs being the limit that can be raised 
on one farm, I have over 100 now, and 
we have several men here who raise 
from 200 to 300 hogs each year. I will 
say this much deciuedly, that my own 
experience and the experience of the 
best farmers around here, and the 
breeders of the State, is strongly in 
favor of keeping old sows over, that is, 
those that have proved good mothers. 
Old Ones Better. —Old sows produce 
larger, stronger pigs. It is a common 
saying here that an old sow’s pigs are 
a month old when born. It is almost al¬ 
ways true that tney are larger and grow 
faster than the pigs from a gilt. The 
old sows, as a rule, make better 
mothers. They have larger litters, and 
raise a larger proportion of their pigs. 
They will have less trouble at farrow¬ 
ing, too. Why should not a tried sow 
be better than an untried one? Suppos¬ 
ing a man has 10 young sows that far¬ 
rowed pigs last April; probably two of 
them had very small litters. Put them 
in the fattening pen as soon as the pigs 
are weaned. Another sow had a fair¬ 
sized litter, but she was a poor suckler, 
and the pigs did not grow very fast. 
Turn her off. Another sow had a big 
litter, two of them were good, two or 
three were ordinary pigs, and two or 
three were very poor. She is an un¬ 
even breeder. Turn her off. But the 
other six sows will do to save, and they 
will average next year two more pigs to 
the litter, and they will be larger, 
stronger pigs. These six sows will be 
worth double what six untried young 
sows would be. The best sow on this 
place is six years old, and has never 
eaten a chicken, or one of my young¬ 
sters (I am a bachelor), or rooted the 
garden. No worse advice could pos¬ 
sibly be given than to breed from noth¬ 
ing but young sows all the time. They 
are immature, a hog does not reach 
full development till about three years 
of age. Breeding from such young stuff 
has not a peg to stand on in theory, and 
every observing man can see the harm 
that comes from it in practice. 
Blooded Stock. —There is another 
thing: When a man has decided to give 
his hogs good pasturage, treat them 
generally in a sensible way, and can 
succeed in getting his eight-months’ pigs 
to weigh from 300 to 350 pounds, it is 
time for him to get some purebreds, and 
raise breeding stock. There is more 
than twice the profit in selling hogs at 
10 cents a pound that there is in selling 
them for pork, even though one-fifth of 
the money has to be spent in advertis¬ 
ing. No man ..hat. will raise hogs right, 
and will raise what the farmers are 
wanting, need ever fear that he will not 
find a market. The purebred hog busi¬ 
ness never has been overdone, and there 
are no present indications that it will 
be, for the great bulk of farmers treat 
their hogs in a very irrational manner, 
as far as maintaining health and vital¬ 
ity is concerned; of course, the stock 
runs down, and they have to go back to 
the breeder for “more size,” “larger 
bone,” for that is the continual cry, as 
every breeder will testify. Not that I 
want to find fault with the average 
farmer. The system is largely justifia¬ 
ble under the circumstances. The hog 
is made the medium of sending the corn 
to market, but in doing this, his vital¬ 
ity is sapped, for the tendency of such 
feeding is to produce fine-boned, small 
hogs, also, to lessen the fecundity of 
the sows. So there is a constant de¬ 
mand for boars to correct these faults, 
and they can be produced only by men 
who feed the costlier muscle and bone¬ 
forming foods, or, in other words, give 
the hog rational treatment, and thereby 
produce size and vigor, e. n. watson. 
Iowa. 
A POWER BOTTLE WASHER. 
Double-Duty Machine. 
Any one having a mower-knife grind¬ 
er, can with very little expense, adapt A 
to washing bottles without in any way 
lessening its usefulness for its original 
purpose. Take off the emery wheel, 
and in its place, put on a bit of tubing 
having one end threaded and the other 
smooth bore, of the size of the brush- 
handle. Have a set screw to fasten the 
brush in place. Fasten this part of the 
machine on the side of the sink, and 
you are ready for business. 
This gives a rapidly-revolving brush, 
which is the essential principle of all 
bottle-washing macnines. With strong 
soap suds, all but the troublesome spots 
will be removed. The latter are par¬ 
ticles of dried milk, and not soap- 
powder, as one of your correspondents 
erroneously called them. To remove 
the spots take a chain dish-cloth and 
break apart into five or six sections, 
about two incnes long. Fasten these at 
intervals of iy 2 inch along a small 
stick of the same si^e as the brusn 
handle. 
Remove the brush from the machine, 
and insert this ‘ scourer” in its place. 
With the bottle partly filled with soap¬ 
suds, a few turns of the machine will 
remove every spot except those on the 
bottom of the bottle. So far, we have 
not been able to devise anything better 
than a hard-wood stick to remove those. 
Massachusetts. e. d. iiowe. 
SCRAPS. 
Skim-Milk in Connecticut.— Our laws 
permit the sale of skim-milk wnen marked 
as such. After a, few years’ trial, we find 
no serious damage to the whole milk trade. 
Where competent inspectors faithfully per¬ 
form their duties, and have frequent sam¬ 
ples analyzed, shutting out those who vio¬ 
late proper laws, there is not much trouble. 
The poor people are much benefited by this 
permission. All cans must be marked with 
large letters—SKIM-MILK. a. b. t. 
Good Old Hens.—T he experience with 
old hens outlined in The R. N.-Y. of Au¬ 
gust 12, does not correspond with ours. 
We kept an accurate account of all the 
eggs laid for one year by seven six-year- 
old purebred Brown Leghorn hens con¬ 
fined in a very large inclosure. These hens 
averaged 173 eggs apiece for the entire 
year. The following year, we kept 16 pure¬ 
bred Brown Leghorns in 16 independent 
yards, each yard being so large that the 
grass was not consumed until late in the 
season. These yards were treated as near¬ 
ly alike as possible, and some seven-year- 
old Leghorns that were included in the 
record of the previous year, laid practically 
as many eggs as the pullets, althougn just 
previous to the test, the pullets had been 
laying the best. h. h. d. 
Midland, Mich. 
The natives of the Zambezi district in 
Africa do not hold with the views of mod¬ 
ern dairymen concerning the need for 
germ-free milk. They consider all fresh 
milk to be unwholesome, and will use it 
only when curdled; in order to reduce it 
to this state, they never clean the vessels 
in which they keep it. Apparently, this 
peculiarity has no effect upon their health. 
Recent sales of our purebred Holstein 
cattle from the Dellliurst Herd, have been 
from New York State on the east, to Kan¬ 
sas on the west, and one round lot has 
been shipped as far soutnwest as old Mexi¬ 
co. Liberal orders for our celebrated 
strain of egg-laying Leghorns have been 
received from Massachusetts on the east, 
California on the west, and south to 
Georgia, all of which encourages us not 
only to advertise, but to continue the good 
work of breeding the very best in the sev¬ 
eral departments to which our farm is de¬ 
voted. H. B. VAN CLEVE. 
Ohio. 
Nebraska stockmen are appealing to 
scientists for aid in exterminating prairie 
dogs, it is said that, unless something is 
done to limit this pest, a large part of the 
State must be abandoned by stock, as the 
prairie dogs kill the grass wherever they 
are located. They multiply with extraor¬ 
dinary rapidity. It is stated that one dog 
town in Sheridan County, a few years ago, 
covered less than 100 acres, now it extends 
over 2,560 acres. Carbon bisulphide is 
death to the animals, but its application 
over a large area is laborious and expen¬ 
sive. In the Texas Panhandle, a new sys¬ 
tem of trapping is reported. 
“ Burning the candle at both ends,” is that what 
you are doing, if you lie awake nights and worry 
without cause. Set your system right with Dr. I). 
Jayne’s Tonic Vermifuge. 
Sneezing and wa’ery eyes are the harbingers of 
cold, and Javne's Expectorant is the antidote. 
The Family Pill—Jayne’s Sanative.— Adv. 
Would He do It ? 
1-N Would a man send 
such an endorsement as the 
following, commending that 
great veterinary remedy, 
Tuttle’s 
Elixir 
if it were not true in 
every particular? 
Used and (Indorsed by the 
Adams Express Company, 
Dr. S. A. Tuttle, Boston. St. John, N. B. 
Dear Sir:—Without solicitation from yourself 
or anyone concerned in vour Klixir. I wish to state 
that I have been using tliat article during the past 10 
years, and I am still using it with the greatest satis¬ 
faction. I can conscientiously recommend it to any 
and all persons requiring an article of this kind. 
Wishing you every success with your great remedy, 
and with my best regards, I am, 
Sincerely yours, E. SEROR WILLIS, 
Owner of Sj»ecial Blend, Hotel DufTerm. 
- WE WILL PAY - 
$5000 REWARD 
If tiiis or any other letter we publish can be 
proven spurious or bogus by any person. 
T uttle’s E llxl r in the stable cures colic, 
curb, splints, contracted cord, ring bone, 
spavin anil internal ailments. 
Tuttle’s Family EI lx I retires rheuma¬ 
tism, sprains, bruises, la grippe and kills 
pain instantly. Sample of either for Cc. in 
stamps to pay postage. 
Dr. S. A. Tuttle, 30 Beverly St., Boston, Mass. 
Beware of all so-called Elixirs, 
none ir^nuine lint Tuttles. 
BEFORE BUYING Scild 5 
stamps for postage 
o n catalogue o f 
ltW styles of single 
and double OAK- 
TAN N El) leather 
harness. 
Sold direct, to consumers at wholesale prices. 
KING HARNESS COMPANY, Mfrs., 
212 Church St., Owego, N. Y. 
Breeders’ Directory. 
White Wyandottks Exclusively.— 
Write wants. Spencer i Poultry Farm, Phentx, B. 1 . 
For Salk—10 Purebred Short-born 
Heifers, good Reds, three to four months old. and 
four Bulls. Pr ce, $>00 lor the lot crated. Knlls, 
ready for use. $ 86 . Also, seven Polled Durham 
Heifers, go d size and color, bred to registered bull 
Price $36 each. Cut rates for all shipments. 
ISON A LITSKV. Harrodsburg, Ky. 
I FfiUfinNQ - White and Buff 200 Hens for 
LLOnUnilO sale at II each. 8 how birds, 12 
and $3. DKLLHURnT FARMS, Mentor, Ohio. 
Uhl QTCIIilQ—Phow animals, all ages, large rich 
mULOI LlllO milking Butter-Bred Herd. 
GUERNSEYS. 
84 Cows averaged 399 pounds 
butter each in 1898 Some 
choice young stock for sale. 
ELLERSLIE STOCK FARM, 
RHINECLIFF, n. y 
Registered Jersey Cattle 
For Milk and Butter. 
R. F. SHANNON, 907 Liberty St., Pittsburgh, Pa. 
BLOODED LIVE STOCK 
Shaap— Oxfords,Shropshircs, South- 
downs. Fancy Poultry. Pigs— 
Berkshires, Poland-Chinas, Chester 
Whites, Y orkshires. Catalogue free. 
H. Lc HOIWF.S, Harrtahurg, Pa. 
f > I A R Write for information tell- 
^3 1 Ea I ing how by buying one pig, 
another will be given free. 
F. 11. GATES A SONS. Chittenango. N. Y 
HOLSTEIN BULL CALVES 
of the best breeding, from 3 to 10 months old. Chester 
Whites, smooth and grow hv Pamphlet free. Prices 
right. CUAS. K. RECORD. Peterboro, N. V 
POULTRY 
♦ We keep everything in the FOULTKV LINK, ♦ 
J Fencing, Feed, Incubators, Live Stock. Brooders ♦ 
•—anything—it’s our business. Call or let us ♦ 
♦ send you our illustrated catalogue—It’s free for ♦ 
♦ the asking—it’s worth having. ^ 
♦ lixeelsior Wire and Poultry Supply Co., ♦ 
♦ 28 Vesey Street, New York City. ♦ 
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦«■♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ 
Booth fn I jpp on bens & chickens. 64-p. Book Free 
UPCHII lv Llw C l). J.Lambert, Box307,Apponaug.K I. 
SCOTCH COLLIES 7, TAN 
Circulars free. SILAS DECKER, So. Montrose, Pa 
Newton’s OBW mTip 
Improved ” llXi 
Holds them firmly, draws 
them forward when lying 
down, pushes back when 
standing, gives freedom 
of bead, keeps them clean 
E. C. NEWTON CO. 
Batavia, Ill. Catalogue Fret 
THE CHAIN HANGING 
CATTLE STANCHION. 
The most practical and humane Fastener ever in¬ 
vented. Gives perfect freedom of the head. Illus¬ 
trated Circular and Price free on application. 
Manufactured by O. H. ROBERTSON, 
Forestville, Conn. 
SUCCESSFUL DAIRYMEN use 1 cent's worth 
SHOO-FLY 
Saves 3 quarts milk daily if used in time. 
NO FLIES, TICKS, VERMIN OR SORES ON COWS. 
Thousands duplicate 10 gallons. Be ware of imitation*. 
“I have used several so-called * Cattle Comforts,' 
none equal to ‘SHOO-FLY. It is effective and 
cheap. Used 100 gallons.” H.W. Comkort, Falls- 
1 ngton, Pa., President Pennsylvania Dairy Union. 
Send *J5c. Money refunded if cow is not protected. 
SHOO-FLY MFC. CO., 1005 Fairmount Ave., PIIILA, PA. 
CATTLE FLY OIL. 
Cattle Fly Oil, 
prepared and 
put up in gal¬ 
lon cans, ex¬ 
pressly for 
keeping Flies 
from Horses 
and Cattle 
during the 
Summer 
months. 
It is perfectly harmless, and will be found a great 
comfort to cows when milking. This mixture is ap¬ 
plied with the Douoie Tube Lightning Insect Ex¬ 
terminator, which throws a very fine spray of the 
oil mixture. One ga ion of Cattle Fly Oil is suffi¬ 
cient to spray 500 cows: a greater flow of milk Is 
guaranteed. We will express to any address one 
gallon of < att'e Fly Oil with a Double Tube Light¬ 
ning Insect Extermt- ator for J2. 
'I he Exterminator is alsoadapted for killing potato 
bugs ana insects < f every nature. 
8 peMa prices for quantities. 
Seventeen Patents granted on our Sprayers. 
AGENTS WANTED EVERYWHERE. 
0. B. SMITH & CO.,Utica, N.Y..U.S.A. 
Galled Horses 
Breasts, Backs, Mouths, etc., stained, 
heuTed, toughened and CURED WHILE AT WORK! 
Jit s the best. You will swear to this fact if you 
willt.ryCALL POWDER. 60 cents by mail. 
MOORE BROS. Albany N. Y. _ 
Trade 
Mark 
Easily and thorona&if 
New, common-Mnm 
not ejtpensive. N* cart, * 
pay. FREE. A practical, it 
ustrated treatise on the abac 
lute cure of Lump Jaw, free t 
readers of thispaper. 
Fleming Bros., chemists, 
UaDa Htsck Tards, CkJesse, ~ 
HOC 
CHOLERA PREVENTED AND CURED. 
Remedy cures Hog Cholera, Chicken Cholera, and is death to Worms. IS1 Package 
. . enough lor 50 Hogs. Will refund you the $1 if It fails. Directions forusmg 
1 'J ac '* a £ e * 1 18 a scientific remedy, and will save your bogs and chickens. Order $1 packnge 
NOW \ ou may have heavy losses by waiting SCIENTIFIC REMEDY CO., Nauvoo, Ill. 
