1898 
779 
THE IMPROVED CHES TER WHITE HOG. 
HIS GOOD POINTS DISCUSSED. 
I prefer the Improved Chester White 
hog for market, profit and general pur¬ 
pose ; my reason for this is that an extra 
large litter is always had in careful 
breeding. My average number of pigs 
per litter last Spring was 12 ^, of which 
about 10 can be raised, while some small 
breeds have only three to five per litter. 
It costs no more to winter a heavy brood 
sow than one that breeds very light, so 
there the gain is double in the Chester 
White pigs. A larger hog can be had at 
a given age than with other breeds. 
The Chester White hogs are always on 
their feet, neat, gentle and rangey. 
They are not shaking fat like some other 
breeds during their early days, but what 
fat a Chester has on him is solid pork 
and bacon. 
Hogs for fattening should be weighed 
every two weeks, at lea^t, and cost of 
feed and gains compared ; if the cost is 
more than the gain, the sooner they get 
to market the better. In buying to start 
a breed, don’t get a pig with coarse, wavy 
hair ; the finer the hair, the larger the 
hog will get, without exception. Don’t 
get any stock of an unreliable breeder. 
Pedigrees are asked for, but this amounts 
to nothing, as inbreeding can be done 
back just far enough so as not to show 
on the pedigree, and one not acquainted 
with them cannot tell whether it is cor¬ 
rect or not, for each record association 
has a different form of pedigrees. 
Stockbridge, Wis. A. n. portmann. 
SHORT STORIES. 
Cure for Kicking. — I consider that the 
remedy for a kicking cow depends largely 
on the man that administers the same. 
We have never had an instance here that 
was not easily conquered. The only 
stubborn cow was mastered by placing 
a strap around the hind legs similar to a 
figure 8, and then by the milker pressing 
his head in the hollow in front of the 
hips of the animal. In less than 10 days, 
this animal was milked by that milker 
without the strap, and so continued as 
long as we owned her. Another remedy 
we have used is to fasten a staple in the 
floor in the rear of the animal, and from 
that, have a strap that is fastened around 
one of her ankles just tight enough so 
that she cannot bring the leg forward. 
Peterboro, N. n. wm. ii. caldwell. 
Another Kicking Cow. —If a cow kicks 
because she is afraid of the milker, the 
way to cure her is to be as gentle as pos¬ 
sible with her, and a bucket of feed will 
quiet her as quickly as anything. In 
such a case as this, strapping her legs or 
tying up one fore foot, or buckling a 
surcingle tightly around in front of her 
hips, will only augment the trouble, be¬ 
cause it will increase the fear or irrita¬ 
tion. If, on the other hand, the cow 
kicks just because she has taken the 
notion that she does not want her udder 
handled, and is ugly about it, the only 
way I know of breaking her is to break 
her temper, the same as we would a 
vicious horse. I don’t like the idea of 
pounding an animal, because it is a very 
disagreeable business, to say the least, 
and it takes so much of it to do any good. 
So the way I operate on such cows is as 
follows : I take a bull ring—one that 
springs into the nostrils—and adjust it 
in the kicker’s nose ; then I tie a strong 
cord to this and run it up over the top 
of the stanchions, or better, through a 
small pulley over the cow’s head. Have 
the cord long enough so that it will lie 
across the lap while milking. Then I 
take the cord in my hand, sit down to 
the cow, and when she kicks, jerk the 
cord so that her attention will be called 
to the other end of her anatomy in a 
hurry. For fear that she will forget it, 
I jerk her two or three times more. 
Whenever she seems inclined to kick, I 
reach for the cord, and if she does not 
learn the connection between her kick¬ 
ing and the jerking on her nose, she will 
be a more ignorant cow than I have seen 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
yet. I keep this up as long as it seems 
necessary, and if there are any symptoms 
of a return of the disease, I just give 
her a dose of the remedy. 
New York. j. grant morse. 
Feeding Potatoes. —I generally raise 
about 10 acres of potatoes, feed the small 
ones when potatoes bring good prices, 
and when worth less than eight cents in 
the Fall, I feed them to stock of all 
kinds. I feed both raw and cooked. 
With a shallow pan, it costs but little to 
cook them, and when mixed with ground 
feed, they add about 20 per cent to the 
food value of both the potatoes and the 
ground feed. For fattening, corn meal 
is used with the potatoes ; for growing 
young pigs, wheat or rye starts; the last 
gives good bone and muscle. Raw pota¬ 
toes in themselves have but little food 
value, but always pay to feed in connec¬ 
tion with grain. Milch cows do better 
with raw potatoes chopped, but don’t 
give much more milk. Nothing is bet¬ 
ter for a change in Winter than raw po¬ 
tatoes, and I consider it almost a neces¬ 
sity for stock, hogs and horses to have a 
limited ration of potatoes once a week 
in Winter. alex. a. Arnold. 
Galesville, Wis. 
Quality of a Cow's Milk. —The sci¬ 
entific men have proved, time and again, 
that a cow, when in good condition, 
gives milk of about average quality, no 
matter how the food is changed. There 
are slight variations in the per cent of 
butter fat, but these variations are gen¬ 
erally due more to changes in the condi¬ 
tion of the cow than to changes in the 
food. Still, the practical men come for¬ 
ward and say that they know of cases 
where fat has been fed into the milk. 
The truth of the matter seems to be that, 
where a cow is in poor condition and im¬ 
properly fed, she does not give as rich 
milk as she would when in the best of 
health. If another man take such a 
cow, change her feed and give her the 
best of care, it is quite probable that he 
can increase the richness of her milk, up 
to a certain limit. When a cow gets up 
to her standard, there she will stop, 
while she continues in good health. 
Drunken Pigs —Since the Hope Farm 
cow had that case of “ sun-stroke ”, we 
have had a number of reports of animals 
that got under the influence. Here is a 
reported case from Kentucky, which we 
find in the Rural World : 
“ Several weeks ago, a drove of hogs 
was turned in on a trough of fermented 
beer, which is Bourbon whisky in its 
first stage. The porkers took to this 
new diet greedily, and the entire lot of 
hogs were absolutely intoxicated for 
about three weeks until the swill gave 
out. They would gulp down the beer 
until they could hold no more, stagger 
off, drop down anywhere in a stupor, 
sleep it off, and go and repeat the dose. 
The sight of from 30 to 50 intoxicated 
hogs, some fighting, some too stupid to 
fight, and some rolling down the hill 
into the distillery branch, from which 
they had to be rescued to prevent drown¬ 
ing, was a novel one, and attracted the 
attention of many neighbors. When the 
beer gave out, they would neither eat 
anything else nor be comforted, and it 
was absolutely pitiful to see and hear 
them squealing around the troughs.” 
FORKFULS OF FACTS. 
Mb. Clark Allis, of Orleans County, N. Y., al¬ 
ways has success In producing early lambs. He 
tells us that his first lamb this year was dropped 
October 17. 
One of our readers in Maine says that he has 
bred Jersey cattle for 24 years, but never had a 
kicker yet. This speaks well for the gentleness 
of the Jersey. Kickers are mostly made, not born. 
I never happened to own a kicking cow in all 
my experience. This may seem queer to you. I 
have seen them strapped with one foot down, 
also both hind legs tied when being milked, and 
read of other wavs; but I cannot relate to you 
any personal experience. a. c. peer. 
On one of the largest trotting-horse breeding 
farms in California, a big cement tank has been 
made which can be filled with water at will. 
When the roads are muddy, and when the horses 
have sore feet, they are exercised by making 
them swim in this tank. This saves their feet, 
prevents danger from poor roads, and still gives 
them the necessary exercise. The bath itself is, 
also, said to be beneficial. 
Swill for Hogs. —Restaurant or hotel refuse 
should be gathered everyday and fed fresh. It 
should be free from dishwater, as this always 
contains more or less soap powder, which is 
very injurious to swine. Nothing Is to be gained 
in cooking the refuse before feeding. Wheat 
middlings go well with it. w. e. mandeville. 
New York. 
Western Jack Rabbits. —Idaho is overrun with 
jack rabbits, and it is said that these animals 
are to be shipped east by the trainload this 
Winter in refrigerator cars. The carcasses will 
be frozen solid before packing. This is following 
the example of Australia, that country sending 
shiploads of refrigerated rabbits to England. 
Idaho is offering a bounty of two cents on rabbit 
scalps. 
Queer Hatching. —Here is a statement from a 
New York State local paper: “ An Avoca farmer, 
studying economy, mixed sawdust with the corn 
meal fed to the chickens. It worked so well that 
he gradually reduced the quantity of meal, until 
the ration was all sawdust. About this time, a 
white hen stole her nest, and after reposing three 
weeks on 13 eggs, she came off with 12 wooden¬ 
legged chickens and one woodpecker.” 
Cow Notes. —The dairymen here favor the calf 
law. Dairymen do not profit by the bob-veal 
trade as much as dealers. There is a home de¬ 
mand here for young calves at as good prices as 
they would bring for veals. For the last two 
years, there have not been enough to supply the 
demand. It is a common belief among farmers 
that a cow will get drunk on apples, will get over 
it shortly, but it sometimes shortens the milk 
yield for the rest of the season. o. a. p. 
McDonough, N. Y. 
“ALPHA-DE LAVAL” 
CREAM SEPARATORS. 
De Laval Alpha “Baby” 
Cream Separators were 
first and have ever been 
kept best and cheapest. 
They are guaranteed su¬ 
perior to all imitations and 
infringements. Endorsed 
by all authorities. More 
than 150,000 in use. Sales 
ten to one of all others 
combined. All styles and 
sizes— $50.- to $225.- Save 
$5.- to $10.- per cow per 
year over any setting 
system, and $3.- to $5.- 
per cow per year over any 
imitating separator. 
New and improved ma¬ 
chines for 1808. Send for 
new Catalogue containing 
a fund of up-to-date dairy 
Information. 
THE DE LAVAL SEPARATOR CO. 
Randolph & Canal Sts., I 74 Cortlandt Street 
CHICAGO. I NEW YORK. 
Top Price Butter. 
The kind that a fancy private 
trade demands, is colored with 
Thatcher's Ora/nge Butter Color — 
the color that does not contain 
any poison. Send for a sample. 
THATCHER MFC. CO., Potsdam, H.Y. 
Your Greatest Advantage 
in the dairy business 
will be secured by the 
use of a Separator that 
will skim clean, operate 
easily, require little or 
no outlay for repairs, 
oil, etc. This in addi¬ 
tion to increasing 1 the 
product of the herd by 
25 per cent and improv¬ 
ing the quality 100 per 
cent are the leading 
features and advan¬ 
tages of .the Siiarp- 
les Safety II and 
Separators. Ask 
anybody that uses one or write us. 
Branches: 
Elgin, Ill. 
Dubuque, la. 
Omaha, Neb. 
P. M. SHARPLES , 
West Chester, Pa 
Farmer’s Handy Feed Cooker. 
Reader’s attention is called to this device, 
which is sold at $12 50 for 50-gallon capacity. By 
eeding poultry and animals cooked food during 
winter at least 
oue-third of the feed is saved ; also having stock 
in a healtny condition, preventing bog cholera 
among yonr hogs and insuring the hens laying 
freely during the winter months. On application 
to the Empire Manufacturing Company, Quincy, 
Ill., a catalogue giving full description, may be 
obtained. They are made in all sizes. 
fT\ DIAI rt YOUR CRAIN 
AT HOME 
and save the toll. You have the horses, we 
have the power and mill. Over 
20,000 PEERLESS 
Mills are now In use. 
They work fast, fine, ea»y. 
/Make family meal or feed. 
Prices. *15, *18, & * 20 . AGENTS 
WANTED EVERYWHERE. Write 
for circulars and agency. 
STEVENS MFG. CO. Box 29, Joliet, UL 
Elliot’s 
Parchment 
Butter 
Paper 
To Dairymen or HALF 
others we will . 
send half a ream A 
8x11, free, if they REAM 
will forward 30c. 
to pay postage. _ 
Try the Best But- f j PP 
ter Wrapper and ■ ■ 
avoid Imitations. 
A. G. ELLIOT & CO., 
Manufacturers, 
Philadelphia, Pa 
Newton’s fftW TIP 
Improved LU ft 1 llli 
Holds them firmly, draws 
them forward when lying 
down, pushes back when 
standing, gives freedom 
of head, keeps them clean 
. E. O. NEWTON CO. 
Batnvia, Ill. Catalogue Free 
COOK Your FEED ami Save 
Half the Cost—with the 
PROFIT FARM BOILER 
With Dumping Caldron. Emp¬ 
ties Its kettle in one minute. The 
simplest and best arrangement for 
cooking food for stock. Also make 
Dairy and Laundry Stoves, 
Water and Steam Jacket Ket¬ 
tles, Hog Scalders, Caldrons, 
etc. 8end for circulars, 
D. R. SPERRr & Co., Batavia. Ill. 
FOR DIPPING SHEEP 
For tick*, 
lice, scab, 
foot rot 
and all forma 
of SKIN 
DISEASES thia 
HALL°Wi° 
will be found til© beat and 
the most convenient. Made of beet 
_ galvanized Hteel it is strong and durable. 
Will not leak, ru»t or rot. You just buy once; they last. 
Special inducements to prompt buyers. Circulars and prices free. 
ilALL STEEL TANK CO.. 63 N. Ashland Av. Chitacu, ills* 
MILLS 
ForgrindingFeed.Corn Meal, Bnckwheat, Rye, etc. 
The very best manufactured. Send for description 
and prices. 
RICHMOND CITY MILL WORKS, 
185 North F Street. RICHMOND, IND. 
A DOLLAR SAVED 
Is a dollar earned. Yon can both 
earn it and save it if you use the 
SCIENTIFIC 
GRINDING MILLS. 
Save it when you grind 
your own grain ana earn 
it when you grind for 
your neighbors. Four sizes 
for steam power; others for 
horse power. Free catalogue. 
MFG. CO.SprigfieldtO. 
The Improved D, S. Cream Separators 
In thoroughness of separation take the lead. 
In completeness of design and ease of operation excel 
all others. 
Are more substantially made and are superior in all 
points to all others. 
All Styles and Sizes. $75.00 to $625.00. 
Agents in all dairy sections. 
Send for latest Illustrated catalogues. 
VERMONT FARM MACHINE CO., - Bellows Falls, Vt. 
