1909. 
3S3 
THE RURAL, NEW-YORKER 
LIVE STOCK NOTES. 
That Brood Sow Again. — When a 
man gives advice, either verbal or writ¬ 
ten, to others, he is anxious to prove 
by actual results that his methods are 
correct, and that his theories work out 
satisfactorily. This must be my excuse 
for again discussing the brood sow. 
On account of the extremely high price 
of feed we are not keeping many hogs 
these days. Although bacon pigs bring 
from $6.50 to $7 per hundred pounds 
live weight, we are unable to make 
a profit in feeding a large number. 
We aim to keep just enough to con¬ 
sume all of our skim-milk, which is 
thickened with grain in the proportion 
of three pounds of milk to one of grain. 
For bacon, where a large proportion 
of lean meat is required, such grains 
as peas, oats, barley and wheat mid¬ 
dlings are found to give best results. 
Undoubtedly, it is possible to grow 
cheaper pork where pigs are given a 
run at pasture, especially where a suc¬ 
cession of such forage crons as clover, 
vetches and rape are provided. On ac¬ 
count of the situation of our farm 
buildings, which are nearly surrounded 
by village lots, we are unable to grow 
forage crops conveniently, so we do 
not undertake to pasture pigs ex¬ 
tensively. This year we have wintered 
only one brood sow. She is a purebred 
Tamworth, and was bred to a Berk¬ 
shire boar. The Tamworths make 
good mothers, and have the true bacon 
type, namely, light in the shoulder and 
neck, with long, deep sides and fair 
hams. The improved Berkshire also 
approaches this type; at any rate, he 
is a decided improvement on the old- 
fashioned Berkshire. On the morning 
of March 1 our sow was found to 
be the mother of 12 uniformlv strong 
and healthy pigs. Since they arrived, 
however, she has smothered two of 
them in the nest. As this was largely 
our own fault we do not harbor un¬ 
kind feelings toward her; and, at any 
rate, 10 pigs are enough for one sow 
to feed properly. We allowed her to 
make her nest in the corner of a large 
box stall, which she had occupied all 
Winter. This stall has a gravel bot¬ 
tom, and, although the sow has two 
rings in her nose, she managed to 
hollow out a place for a nest and fill 
it with the straw and chaff which we 
had scattered thinly around the pen. 
Two of the pigs buried themselves 
too deeply in the litter, and, conse¬ 
quently, were lain on by their fond 
but unconscious mother. 
This sow was feed a mixture of peas, 
oats, buckwheat and wheat bran. Too 
much buckwheat in the ration might 
have resulted in weak pigs, or have 
caused trouble with the sow, for it is 
a very heating food; a small proportion, 
however, mixed with the other grains— 
which are all strong in bone and muscle 
makers—I think had a beneficial effect. 
This provender was stirred into skim- 
milk—when we had any—otherwise into 
clear water. A little salt and wood 
ashes were thrown into the pen oc¬ 
casionally, and now and then a pan¬ 
ful of potato peelings, cabbage leaves, 
etc., from the kitchen. The stall in 
which the sow is kept opens into a 
covered barnyard, 40x50 feet, and each 
day she was allowed to exercise there. 
She was not by any means thin when 
she farrowed, although not rolling in 
fat; one extreme is as bad as the 
other. She has always been treated 
kindly and has perfect confidence in 
those who care for her. We can go 
into the pen and handle the pigs with¬ 
out a protest from the mother; in fact, 
she seems proud to have us look them 
over, but I would not advise a stranger 
to try it—one snap of those great jaws 
would take a man’s hand off. 
Feeding the Pigs. —Many times dur¬ 
ing the Summer we find that we are 
producing more skim-milk than our pigs 
can take profitably. The mixture of 
three parts skim-milk to one of grain 
is not only the most economical method 
of feeding the grain, but it is also 
the most profitable method of feeding 
the milk. Skim-milk alone is altogether 
too dilute to make a good food. In 
order to get a sufficient amount of nour¬ 
ishment a pig must just about drown 
himself in it, and he will still be hun¬ 
gry. You can always tell him. In 
the first place you usually hear him 
before you come within sight; when 
you reach his pen—guided by squeals— 
you will find an unthrifty, pot-bellied 
animal, too full, perhaps, to hold c.iy 
more, but still hungry. Such a pig 
always reminds me of the hound in 
Aesop’s fable, who tried to drink a pond 
dry in order to get a bone at the bot¬ 
tom. Last Summer I saw a small lot 
of real nice pigs that were said to 
have been fed nothing but skim-milk. 
I found out afterwards, however, that 
these pigs had the run of a yard where 
the manure from several well-fed horses 
was thrown, as well as weeds from an 
adjoining garden. 
It is only a five-minutes’ drive from 
our buildings to the nearest railroad 
station, so whenever we find that we 
could feed a few more pigs profitably 
we drive over on market day and select 
as many as we can to take from the 
cars. We choose the thinnest and 
smallest pigs, always making sure that 
they are thrifty and not stunted. We 
are often able to get pigs that will 
weigh from 125 to 150 pounds. This 
is rather light even for bacon, so the 
drovers are glad to have these thin 
fellows taken out and fed for a few 
weeks longer. On one lot of four thrifty 
fellows we made in four weeks a gain 
of 2J/2 pounds per day per pig. These 
pigs were strong and healthy, but had 
plainly been underfed. When given all 
they would eat of skim-milk they sim¬ 
ply stretched themselves in all direc¬ 
tions. This was the best gain we ever 
made, but seldom fail to make such pigs 
put on two pounds per day. We usu¬ 
ally sell at 180 to 200 pounds, as that 
is about the weight the packers want 
for bacon. 
Feeding Springers. —Cows that are 
fed a little grain a few weeks before 
calving are much less apt to retain 
the afterbirth than those that are un¬ 
derfed. Bran, shorts, oats and peas 
and a little linseed meal are all good. 
Feed from two to four pounds per 
day, depending upon the size and con¬ 
dition of the cow, with, of course, a 
liberal feed of silage and hay, and a 
few roots if you have them. This 
extra feed will not only help the cow 
through the calving period, but will be 
so much stored-up energy from which 
she may draw when the milking pe¬ 
riod begins. c. s. M. 
Up Hay Profits 
Medicine for Cholera. 
Last Winter you printed a rec-ipe from 
G. A. Cosgrove to cure diarrhoea in chicks 
I tried if with good results but have lost 
my recipe. Would you let me have it again? 
I will take better care the'next time. 
New Holland, Pa. H. r. b. 
Ans. —Mr. Cosgrove used what is 
known to doctors as Squibb’s Mixture. 
The U. S. Dispensatory gives it as fol¬ 
lows : Tincture of opium, 20 cubic 
centimeters; tincture of capsicum, 20 
c.c.; spirits of camphor, 20 c.c.; chlor¬ 
oform, 7.5 c.c.; alcohol, 32.5 c.c. An¬ 
other preparation, known as the “Sun 
Mixture,” is a popular specific for diar¬ 
rhoea or cholera: Tincture of opium, 
tincture of capsicum, tincture of rhu¬ 
barb. spirits of camphor, spirits of 
peppermint. There are used 20 c.c. of 
each of these drugs—well mixed and 
filtered. 
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Hoes can be reversed. 
The EXCELSIOR Double- 
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Price, complete, ready to work. $5.50 
Extra Tools at slight additional cost. We also make 
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EXCELSIOR GARDEN TOOL CO. 
Send for free catalog 756 W. 12th St., Erie, Pa. 
Two-Gy Under 
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Moline, III . 
.vfc-.-i- . 
MILK ROUTE TO LET 
Claranet Farm stocked with Jerseys and well 
equipped, adjoining borough line and supplying 
principal trade of Smetbport, Pa.,with milk, cream, 
and ice cream, will be let for money rent or on 
shares to capable, honest and sober man. Refer¬ 
ences must be llrst class Apply 10 
ELISHA K. KANE, Kushequa, Pa. 
HOMES WANTED 
in Catholic Families far 
Homeless ( atholic Boys 
between the ages of 8 and 16. A family having no 
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CALF SCOURS 
Cured at once ■ I No failures, 
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V-m.. ■ 
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Many different styles adapted for 
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WESTERN CANADA 
More Big Crops in 1908 
60.000 settlers from the United 
States in 1908. New Districts opuuod 
for settlement 320 acres of land 
to EACH SETTLER— 160 free 
IioiueHtead and 160 acres 
at only per acre. 
“A vast, rich country and a con¬ 
tented, prosperous people.** Ex¬ 
tract from correspondence of a 
Kansas Editor, whoso visit to 
AVostcrn Canada in August, 1908, 
was an inspiration. 
Many havo paid the entire cost 
of their farms and had a balance of from $10 
to $20 per aero as a result of ono crop 
Spring and Winter Wheat., Oats, 
Barley, Flax and Peas are the prin¬ 
cipal crops, while the wild grasses bring 
to perfection the best cattle that havo over 
boon sold on tho Chicago market. 
Splendid Climate, Schools and 
Churches in all localities. Hallways 
touch most of the settled districts, 
and prices for produce are always 
good. Lands may also bo purchased from 
Kailway and Land Companies. 
For pamphlets, maps and information re¬ 
garding low Railwav Rates, apply to Sup*t 
of Immigration, Ottawa, Cun., or to the 
authorised Canadian Government Agent. 
J. C. Duncan, Canadian Govern¬ 
ment Agent. Koom 30, Syracuse Hank 
Building, Syracuse, N. Y. 
WRITE FOR BEST BUGGY OFFER 
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BETTER^ THAMT/RS7£ 
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WHY NOT USE HUBBAR 
