654 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
October 2 
ENSILAGE FOR SHEEP. 
HOW FINE TO CUT IT? 
I. What length should ensilage be cut for sheep? 
2 Wbat kind of paiot or tar is best to use on the 
outside of a tub silo (hemlock lumber)? 
3. Will sheep do well if fed ensilage more than 
once per day ? 
4. Will yellow dent corn be too ripe for sheep 
ensilage if glazed ? 
5. If corn is wet with dew or rain, will it hurt 
it for the silo ? 
6. What is your experience with regal’d to the 
economy in feeding ensilage to sheep, and what 
grain do you consider best to feed with it ? 
Cut as Fine as Possible. 
1. The shorter the better. I know 
that ensilage will keep, cut to any 
length, but the shorter it is cut the 
closer it will pack in the siLo, and the 
better the sheep will eat it. We cut 
ours about three-eighths or one-half 
inch long, but would cut it shorter if 
our cutter would do it. 2. One coat of 
Rossie iron ore paint and linseed oil, 
and a heavy coat of roofing pitch, the 
p.teh to be renewed when needed. 3 . 
When we have no roots and feed ensilage 
a one for succulence, we feed it twice a 
day ; but when feeding roots and en¬ 
silage both, which we like best, we feed 
one in the morning and the other in the 
evening. 4 . It is just right for the silo 
when it begins to dent—it never glazes. 
5 We do not stop for dew or rain unless 
we are cutting it very green ; then it 
will have abundance of juice, but when 
beginning to dent, or after that period, 
we stop only when it is too wet for men 
to handle decently. In fact, after it is 
a little too ripe, or if it has been frosted, 
en&ilage will keep better and be better 
if water be run on it as it goes to the 
silo, enough to restore what it has lost 
by ripening or drying beyond the proper 
stage. 6. Years ago, it was a popular 
notion that, although ensilage was a 
good cow food, it would not do lor sheep 
and I am, probably, the first man who 
advocated it as a reliable food for sheep, 
and especially for breeding ewes. I re¬ 
gard it as a very desirable food for sheep, 
and could I have but the one, would pre¬ 
fer it to roots of any kind. But as I 
have often said and written, where I 
can do so, I would feed ensilage and 
roots both daily. Bo far as economy 
goes, it is the most economical food that 
I have ever found for sheep, and can be 
fed in large quantity, only the sheep 
should be kept warm if fed all they will 
eat. If ensilage be fed to store sheep, 
they will need no other food than a little 
clover hay unless breeding ewes, when 
they should have a daily feed of wheat 
bran along with the ensilage and clover. 
As every one knows, or ought to know, 
ensilage is very carbonaceous, and the 
grain should be such as to balance up 
the ration, and there is nothing better 
for this than wheat bran and clover hay. 
Of course, if the sheep are being fat¬ 
tened, they should have an addition of 
more corn. But great is ensilage as a 
sheep food, and he that uses the most of 
it will have the best sheep and make the 
most money in feeding them. 
j s. WOODWARD. 
One of the Cheapest Sheep Foods. 
1 . Sheep eat the large stalks best when 
cut only about one-half inch long. 2. 
Gas tar can be purchased at the gas 
factory cheaply, and a tar paint is espe¬ 
cially manufactured for excluding the 
moisture from wood. It can be pur¬ 
chased at most paint shops. Either of 
these will do. I do not know which is 
the better. 3 . Not as well as when fed 
a variety of coarse foods. 4 . No, glazed 
corn is not too ripe for the sheep. 5 . It 
will not injure ensilage to cut it when it 
is damp from dew or rain ; in fact, if the 
corn be cutripish, it is greatly improved 
by having some moisture added to the 
cut material. C. Ensilage is one of the 
cheapest foods for sheep that we have. 
About one-half of their ration should be 
of this cheap material. Presupposing 
that the ensilage is from corn, it should 
be balanced up with clover hay, bran, 
oats or other moderately nitrogenous 
foods. A little oil meal is always accept¬ 
able, and we find that a rather narrow 
or nitrogenous ration gives better results 
than a wide one, although, when it 
comes to finishing off the early lambs, 
more corn may be used in the ration for 
the purpose of hastening the fattening 
of the lambs, for smallish fat lambs 
bring better prices than large, coarse, 
half fattened ones. i p. boberts. 
POTASH, GINGER AND KEROSENE 
FOR ROUP. 
About the middle of last January, 
as I was going the rounds one night, I 
noticed that some of my youngest pul¬ 
lets were sneezing; the next night a 
few more, and it wasn’t long before most 
of them in four pens were attacked. The 
case began to look serious. Here were 
10 pens in one house full of poultry, and 
between 40 and 60 birds in the first four 
pens were coughing and sneeezing at a 
great rate. I bought a haif-ounce bottle 
full of permanganate of potash (cost five 
cents) and put enough in their drinking 
water to make it decidedly red ; it takes 
but little. I used hot water to dissolve 
it. Every night, I took a bottle of kero¬ 
sene, and every bird that had any moist¬ 
ure on its bill I took off from the roost, 
and poured on some of the kerosene, 
holding its mouth shut so that it would, 
in breathing, draw some of the oil into 
its nostrils One pullet that had its face 
and eye swollen, I killed with an axe. 
Asa kind of tonic for all the birds, I 
used about one-fourth pound of ginger 
in their mash every morning for about 
ten days ; this was for all the birds, sick 
or well, about 220 . In about three 
weeks, every bird had a clean bill, and 
I have not seen anything of the kind 
since. I used about eight cents’ worth 
of the potash and three pounds of ginger. 
Only one bird in the rest of the house 
had the disease, and that was in the 10th 
pen. As these birds were never exposed 
to a draft, the only way I can account 
for the sickness was because they had 
been kept in one pen up to abcut the 
middle of December, and it had been too 
much crowded. 
In regard to the number of females to 
run with a male in order to have the 
best results in getting fertile eggs, one 
point was overlooked in the late discus¬ 
sion in The R. N.-Y., and that is, if one 
wish fertile eggs in winter, the hens 
must have green food, and about the 
best thing is cabbage. I don’t believe 
that it is a good idea to hang the cab¬ 
bage up where they can’t get at it; it 
will last longer that way, but may be 
you want fertile eggs more than you do 
cabbage. v. e. haserick. 
New Hampshire. 
COCKERELS WITH PULLETS . 
WHAT FLOOR SPACE PER HEN ? 
1. Do you consider it a good plan to keep young 
cockerels with the pullets at this season—before 
they begin to lay ? What is the advantage or 
disadvantage of this course ? 
2. What is the smallest floor space for each 
laying hen with which you would like to start 
into winter quarters ? 
1 I would not put cockerels with pul¬ 
lets until time to start hatching. Kept 
in a yard all by themselves, and they 
will do better and be more active when 
needed. 2. About five square feet is as 
little space as I would like to have for 
each hen. R. h. riff. 
1 . No. They annoy the pullets. The 
cockerels crowd them, whether on range 
or in yards. When the chickens are fed, 
the cockerels, being larger, stronger, 
and having more voracious appetites 
than the pullets, get the largest share 
of the feed. The cockerels and pullets 
each look better in a flock by them¬ 
selves. 2. Six square feet. 
H J. BLANCHARD. 
1. No. Separated, both pullets and cock¬ 
erels are more quiet, get what food is in¬ 
tended for them, and grow faster. The 
young cockerels are likely to keep the 
pullets excited and nervous. 2. Eight 
square feet will do if one has but a few 
to care for and can give them all the at¬ 
tention required to keep the house clean 
and in good sanitary condition. But I 
would prefer 10 feet, or as much more as 
I could give them. b. holmes. 
1. I think it better to keep the cock¬ 
erels and pullets in separate yards after 
the cockerels are large enough to be a 
nuisance and bother to the pullets ; they 
are liable to give them weak backs and 
make cripples. They certainly do no 
good; besides, I think one will have 
stronger cockerels. 2. The best amount 
of floor space to each hen is considered 
not less than 10 square feet, but if there 
is a scratching shed, I think that they 
will do just as well with five square feet 
to each hen in the roosting quarters. 
But they should be kept well cleaned, 
and the air as sweet as possible. They 
will keep warmer with five than with 
ten. JAMES H. SEELY. 
1. I think it a decided disadvantage to 
allow the cockerels to run with the pul¬ 
lets, that is, in the proportion they 
usually hatch. They should be either 
caponized or kept by themselves before 
they begin to pay attention to the pul¬ 
lets. I do not think it any disadvantage 
to allow the cockerels thal are to be used 
for breeding to run with them at all 
times, that is, one cockerel to 12 to 20 
pullets; but to allow a larger number 
of cockerels tends only to worry and 
weaken the pullets, and of course, re¬ 
tard their laying. 2. The more floor 
space for each fowl the better. I would 
not care to try less than six square feet 
for each fowl, and 8 or 10 feet would be 
better still. I have kept them with only 
five square feet for each fowl, and re¬ 
ceived less eggs from the larger number, 
than when only three-fourths the num¬ 
ber were kept in the same space. The 
more they are crowded, the more care 
they require, in cleanliness, keeping 
them exercising, etc. J. e. s. 
A good indication of the success 
of the farmer can be had from the 
condition of his buildings and out¬ 
houses. It is much cheaper to 
keep them in repair than to let 
them go to waste. 
If any of your buildings need 
new roofing or side-covering, buy 
a roll of the Ncponsct Waterproof 
Red Rope Fabric •, which is a splen¬ 
did substitute for shingles and 
clapboards, and is very much 
cheaper. It is absolutely water¬ 
proof, wind-proof, frost-proof, and 
vermin-proof 
Line the inside of your build¬ 
ings with Neponsct Black Building 
Paper , which is much cheaper than 
tarred paper, and ten times as dur¬ 
able. It is odorless, clean, and 
costs less than an inferior paper. 
Neponset should not be con¬ 
founded with ordinary tarred or 
building paper, which rots quick 
when exposed to the weather. 
Full particulars and 
samples free. Write 
F. IV. Bird & Son, 
East Walpole, Mass. 
For sale by Dealers 
in Hardware, Lum¬ 
ber, and Building 
Supplies. 
INSURES 
be°t R t E er d MILK 
AND 
SUPERIOR BUTTER 
“Vour money’s mortb or Vour 
money Back” 
Address 
THE H=0 COMPANY 
71 and 73 Park Place, New York City 
I m proved_— 
U. S. Separators 
For the Dairy and Creamery. 
Torun by Hand, by Belt, or by Steam 
Turbine. Sizes to suit all. 
We have everything foi Dairy and 
Creamery Circulars Free. 
Vermont Farm Machine Co, 
Bellows Falls. Vermont 
SIMPLEST ! 
CHEAPEST ! 
BEST ! 
PU AII Din HI automatic milk 
on Hin nun coolek&akratok 
Our free book, " Milk,” for the asking. 
CHAMPION MILK COOLER CO. 
No. 89 Railroad Street, Cortland, N. Y. 
FOR 
CREAM SEPARATORS, 
CREAMERIES 
Treatise “Good Butter & Howto Make It,” 
All Dairying Utensils, write 
KNEEL AN IF CRYSTAL CREAM ERY CO 
35 K Street, Lansing, Mich. 
THE BEST ON THE MARKET. 
Madrid, N. Y., March 18, 1896. 
The Thatcher Manufacturing Go., Potsdam, N. Y.: 
Gentlemen —Some 11 years ago I took charge 
of the creamery business of the firm of which I 
am a member. At that time we made some 
140,000 pounds of butter. This past year we made 
840.000 pounds of butter. Iu my 11 years’ experi¬ 
ence in this business I have made it a point to 
use the best of everything. As you know I have 
used THATCHER’S ORANGE BUTTER COLOR 
ever since I took charge, and have never had 
cause to regret it. I consider it the best color on 
the market, and it gives ine pleasure to recom¬ 
mend it. J. E. Boynton, Manager, 
W. R. Boynton & Co. 
PROSPERITY AND SEPARATORS. 
Don’t forget that you have been promising yourself and family that 
Cream Separator just as soon as you had a little money In sight and 
things looked brighter. They look brighter for the farmer now than 
for 10 years past. Don’t put off so wise and safe a purchase a day 
longer—you can make it now, and there could be no better time. Put 
it in to-day, and it begins saving money for you to-morrow. It will 
save and make money faster in proportion to its cost than any other 
investment you ever made. Now that the time has come, don't make the 
mistake of trying to save a little by buying an imitating second or 
third-class machine which is “ cheap ” on paper, and In first cost 
only. Get the best and hence the cheapest in that it will save you most 
and serve you longest. If you are in doubt in any way try and see 
for yourself. Send for new “Baby” or Dairy Catalogue No. 257 and 
any desired particulars. _ 
THE DE LAVAL SEPARATOR COMPANY, 
Randolph and Canal Streets, i No. 74 Cortlandt Street 
CHICAGO, j j! I NEW YORK. 
