1 
1904 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
31 
CEMENT FLOORS; CHRONIC IN¬ 
DIGESTION. 
1. Are cement stable floors good for 
horses? Some claim that standing on the 
hard floors causes irmeness. Is it, or not, 
best to put plank in the stalls over the 
cement for the horses to stand on? What 
is the opinion of those who have had 
wide experience in this line? 2. Can chronic 
indigestion of a horse be cured? If so, how? 
So. Haven, Mich. b. 
A horse should not stand constantly 
upon either concrete or plank, but for 
horses having a moderate amount of 
work or exercise there is no danger. I 
have horses standing upon both concrete 
and plank, and can see no difference. 
When I put in concrete at first the stalls 
were planked over, fearing the calks 
would cut into it. This they will not do 
if the material becomes thoroughly 
hardened before use. 2. Chronic indi¬ 
gestion cannot be quickly nor easily 
cured. Light feeding and light work is 
the first step; careful driving, giving 
only moderate amount of water before 
use, feeding foods that for this individ¬ 
ual do not purge. I have a driving horse 
that had indigestion when I bought her, 
brought on by overwork and high feed 
with a digestion not over strong. I 
found oats were best suited to her want3 
of any one grain. The wheat feeds pro¬ 
duced purging when driving, and a very 
limited quantity, not to exceed one 
pound daily, of oil meal proved valuable. 
I also found that she needed a tonic, 
which I made up of the following pro¬ 
portions: One hundred pounds oil meal, 
five pounds powdered charcoal, five 
pounds Epsom salts, five pounds salt, 
four pounds gentian, four pounds salt¬ 
peter, two pounds pepper, three pounds 
fenugreek. The charcoal is a good ab¬ 
sorbent of gases, and indigestion is sure 
to produce gas. The gentian is an ac¬ 
tive tonic and may be depended upon to 
give essentially the same result that 
quinine does for man. The reader will 
quickly see the value of the other ingre¬ 
dients, especially the pepper, which is 
a stomachic of value. This compound 
will cost about five cents per pound. Do 
not feed the “stock foods” to a healthy 
animal. Be careful not to feed this 
horse too much hay. Chronic indiges¬ 
tion should be treated as one would an 
animal after recovering from a period of 
illness. Weak digestion, like weak 
muscles and weak soils, must be built 
up slowly. A poor cow can be by a slow' 
process of care and feed, often built up 
into a good one. If this horse is not 
valuable all of this advice will count for 
naught, because he will not be worth 
the cost, and would seek out a kindly 
old gentleman of means and time and 
trade horses with him. Tell him the 
whole story, trade just as he wishes to, 
and you will win. H. E. c. 
THE 200-EGG HEN. 
I had been thinking that my hens and 
pullets should lay more eggs, but note 
that the “banner flock” of the Cornell 
Experiment Station averaged only 15 
eggs per day from 100 hens during De¬ 
cember, while my 86 hens and pullets 
have laid 22 4-10 eggs per day, so far in 
December, and are on the increase. 1 
had hoped to pass last December’s yield 
(17 eggs per hen for the month), but 
they must hustle the three remaining 
weeks to do so. I feel sure that poul- 
trymen pay too little attention to the 
egg-type hen. The laying strains of 
pullets are marked as plainly as a zebra. 
These things come to a close observer; 
one who loves the handling of good 
birds. When pullets get to be four 
months old is a good time to commence 
culling the non-paying type, and by 
keeping at it three months one can get 
rid of them all. In this culling one runs 
across birds not of true type. The 
butcher gets these also if they be of the 
laying type. The building of a heavy 
layer begins when two weeks old, by 
feeding the nitrogenous and phosphatic 
foods. T feed very little corn and wheat 
to the young. I do not want meat and 
fat on a bird under seven months. I 
feed for bone and vigor. One must be 
still more careful with the cockerels, 
and separate them at the earliest pos¬ 
sible time. Here individuality must be 
considered as well as frame and vigor. 
It takes years to build up a laying 
strain, and careful watching ever after 
to maintain it, but it pays in egg yield, 
vitality and uniform birds. Your hens 
will mo .It earlier and in a shorter space 
of time so you get November and De¬ 
cember eggs which are hatchable. The 
200-egg hen is easy to get. The 200-egg 
flock is possible, and one who buys all 
his feed, and has to plan close for his 
green stuff cannot afford to winter a 
bird which does not pay. a. g. g. 
Ottawa, Ill. 
WHEN SILAGE IS SHORT. 
I have had no experience with silos, nor 
silage, not having been converted yet to 
the silo system. Without experience, it 
would be unwise for me to give any advice 
on the subject. With plenty clover hay, 
some wheat feed, a little Buffalo and lin¬ 
seed meal and sprouts, if you have them, 
the milk will come without silage. 
New Jersey. w. d. haggeety. 
In case of shortage In silage my experi¬ 
ence leads me to think that it is better to 
extend it throughout the feeding season, 
during the Winter, I would supplement 
clover hay. Shredded corn fodder would 
come next to clover hay, with millet a 
close second. Balance up to the ration 
with the gluten feeds, cotton-seed meal and 
wheat brail in such proportions as neces¬ 
sary with the roughage at hand. One rea¬ 
son for feeding less silage so as to make 
it extend through the Winter, is that it has 
a good digestive effect on the cows, keeping 
them in good condition, and is an appetizer. 
Tacoma, Ohio. l. p. bailey. 
I think it a universal complaint that silos 
ire only partly filled. I have about three- 
fourths as much as last year. I usually 
feed twice a day the year around, or rather 
from about November 1 till filling time the 
following year. My plan this year is to 
feed once a day till such time as I think 1 
have enough to carry me through balance 
of season, two feeds a day. I am substi¬ 
tuting hay for one feed at present. For 
grain I am feeding bran, gluten feed, cot¬ 
ton-seed meal, oil meal and ground rye, the 
rye I raise and grind myself. My theory 
is that there is nothing that will take the 
place of silage when pastures are short, 
and if my hay gives out before time to 
turn cows out in Spring I can buy more 
but 1 cannot buy silage. h. p. b. 
New Britain, Conn. 
Were it not for the supply of milk being 
kept up the question might be more easily 
solved. Probably most of the silage this 
Fall contains much soft corn, which if well 
preserved is a good milk producer. Where 
one has a power cutting machine he can 
utilize his straw and poorer hay to good 
advantage, and lengthen out or substitute 
for silage. I think I should lengthen out 
the supply of silage instead of using the 
full ration while it lasted. The extra cut 
fodder may be steamed, or use water in 
mixing with various grain feeds. Good 
feeding barley in Buffalo is quoted at 35 
to 40 cents; oats, 40 to 42; corn around 50. 
Barley is a good feed for any stock. Some 
rye may be used, though I am not familiar 
with this as a feeding product. Wheat 
bran or middlings with any of these grains 
is desirable. We have quantities of com¬ 
mercial feeds that are good milk producers, 
but some coarse article is advisable to mix 
with any of them. c. H. it. 
Palmyra, N. Y. 
It has been our practice whenever short 
of silage to feed a smaller ration than 
would ordinarily be fed in order that it 
may be made to run through the Winter. 
Whenever the silage has run out before 
Spring grass came the cows would run 
down and would drop off badly in their 
milk flow. One point must be watched very 
closely, however, and that is the condition 
of the silage. If the silo is a large one, i. e., 
if there is a large surface exposure for the 
stock that are being fed from the silo there 
is danger of a second heating and flre- 
fanging in the silage. But if there are not 
more than four or five surface square feet 
per animal exposed in the silo and the en¬ 
tire surface of the silo is raked over every 
day or two one may keep ahead of fermen¬ 
tation and still only use a half ration daily. 
It is our practice to divide what silage we 
feed into two feeds. Of course there is no 
fodder or grain that has the succulency of 
silage, but in connection with the small 
ration of silage one can feed oat and 
pea hay, clover hay or corn fodder or 
stover and ground oats, or wheat bran 
mixed with gluten feed and a small amount 
of linseed meal. 1 like to give as much 
coarse fodder as the cows will eat up clean 
and from five to eight pounds of grain per 
day according to the cow’s ability to use it. 
Warren Co., Pa. r. j. w. 
FORCE FEED 
Double breakers and burr set give fastest 
as wel 1 as easiest grinding with 
Duplex 
Grinding Mills 
Grind ear and shelled corn and all 
operation. Force feed 
avoids choking. 4 sizes for any power. 
Strong and durable. Catalogue free. 
THE O. S. KELLY CO., 
Springfield, Ohio. 
DE LAVAL 
CREAM SEPARATORS 
As much better than imitating 
separators as such separators 
are better than setting' systems. 
Send for catalogue and name of 
nearest local agent. 
THE DE LAVAL SEPARATOR CO. 
T* Cortlandt Street, I Randolph & Canal Sts. 
NEW YORK. 1 CHICAGO. 
^UBULAl^ 
r Qpeddiv5q>Arato^ 
If we cannot show you wherein our I 
j separators are worth at least fifty per 
cent more than other separators, don’t 
buy them. We want you to know that 
you have the best when you buy a Tubu¬ 
lar. You cannot help being convinced if 
you examine a Tubular. You will find it | 
entirely different from other separators. 
Write for free catalogue No. 153 
I THE SHARPLES CO., P. N. SHARPIES, 
Chicago, Illinois. West Chestor, Pa 
EMPIRE 
CREAM SEPARATOR 
Makes the Milch Cows Pay. 
It’S 
the 
Best 
built separator in the 
world; simpler in con¬ 
struction, with fewer 
parts, most durable, 
most easily cleaned. Its 
sales have increased 
1,000 % in the 
past four years. Our 
book will interest 
you. Free. 
EMPIRE CREAM 
SEPARATOR COMPANY, 
Bloomfield, N. i. 
Chicago, Ills. 
1 When you write advertisers mention The; 
R. N.-Y. and you will get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.” See our guarantee 8th page. 
Send it 
Back. 
Try it thoroughly on 
small grains, shelled 
corn, ear corn, all feed stuffs mixed, 
then return at our expense if you are 
not satisfied that you can grind easier, 
better and faster than any other mill with tho 
NEW HOLLAND 
COB AND FEED MILL 
That’s our guarantee and the way we sell. 
The machine does the work. Made in 3 sizes, 
adapted to any feeder’s needs and to any kina 
of power. Write for catalogue. Mailed free. 
NEW HOLLAND MACHINE CO., 
Box 116, New Holland, Pa. 
Implement Co., Box I), 
Wilder’s Stanchion 
—being an improvement 
over Smith’s. Lightest, 
strongest, quickest, safest 
Stanchion made. Has steel 
latch and automatic lock 
Becomes stationary when 
open. Animal cannot turn 
it in backing out. Mado of 
best seasoned hard wood. 
Pino for f asteningwith every 
Stanchion. Send for testi¬ 
monials. Wilder—strong 
M onroe, Mich. 
THE CHAIN-HANGING 
Cattle Stanchion 
The most practical and humane Fastener ever In¬ 
vented. Gives perfect freedom of the head. 11 lustrated 
Circular and Price free on application. Manufactured 
by O. H. ROBERTSON, ForestvUle, Conn. 
PRESCOTT’S S’ 
WINGING 
WIVEL 
TANCHION 
KEEPS COWS CLEAN 
Swings forward while get¬ 
ting up or lying down. Locks 
back while standing. Full 
artlculars free. PRESCOTT, 
' Beverly St., Boston, Mass. 
NOW 
DR. HESS 
Great Stock Book 
— If you will write and say what 
Luha stock you have—how many head 
a ICC °f each, what stock food you 
■ ■ have used—and mention this 
paper. This book is a comprehensive treatise 
Oil the care of all live stock and poultry,based 
on the scientific knowledge ana attainments 
of the eminent veterinarian, Dr. Hess (M.l)., 
D.V.S.); written in popular language; com¬ 
mended and used by veterinarians every¬ 
where. Get it and become a master of all 
stock diseases. Write to-day, to 
DR. HESS & CLARK, Ashland. Ohio. 
Makers of Dr. Hess Stock Food. 
THE U. S. WINS 
At the Maine State Dairymen’s Meeting, held 
at Dover, Dec. 1-3, 1903, the butter that 
Received the Highest Score 
in both the Creamery Tub and Creamery Print 
classes, thereby winning 
The Creamery 
Sweepstakes 
. was made from cream separated 
by U. S. hand Cream Separators. 
The above is another of the 
many proofs that in order to 
make the best butter one needs 
to have a U. S. Separator. 
For reports of many other victories , write for catalogue. 
We have the fjllowing Western transfer points ; Chicago, La Crosse, Minneapolis, 
Omaha, Sioux City and Kansas City. Address all letters to 
Vermont Farm Machine Co., Bellows Falls, Vt. 
