1911. 
ROOT, HOG OR DIE! 
One of our readers in Central New York 
has two strong sows to farrow in March. 
Ilis idea was to house and feed the pigs 
well until about the first of May, or when 
the pigs were a little over six weeks old. 
Then turn the sows and pigs into a wood 
pasture. This consists of 25 acres of tim¬ 
ber covered with beech and maple. Tibs 
wood field is practically covered with yellow 
lilies, and the whole ground is a mass of 
roots. What will be the result if he turns 
the sows and the pigs into this field, and 
does nothing more to them until Fall except 
to see that they have water and shelter? 
I think the results of that man’s pig 
raising would be very unprofitable. The 
brood sows after the pigs were weaned 
would probably summer in those woods 
in fairly good shape, but the food they 
would find there would not produce 
milk enough to keep the pigs thrifty, 
and when a pig gets stunted it is a 
hard matter to get much growth, even 
if well fed later on, and the young pigs 
would certainly have to have something 
better than lily roots to get any growth 
on them. I would wean the pigs when 
they are five or six weeks old, and feed 
on skim-milk if I could get it, with 
middlings added as they grow older. 
If I could not get the milk I would use 
wheat middlings 100 pounds, corn, rye 
or barley meal 100 pounds, oil meal 25 
pounds. If I used cornmeal would 
add 50 pounds finely ground oats. I 
would have two barrels to mix the slop 
in and have one souring while I was 
feeding from the other. If possible 
as soon as I could I would put the 
pigs on a grass lot, clover or Alfalfa is 
best, but a June grass pasture will do 
very well. Then if those beech trees 
have a good crop of nuts in the Fall he 
could turn the pigs in there as soon as 
the nuts begin to fall, and they would 
fatten on them very rapidly. He might 
breed the sows for Fall litters, and they 
would thrive nicely as long as the mast 
lasted without any other feed. 
Schuyler Co., N. Y. a. h. prince. 
I have never had any experience in 
that line, but remember in my boyhood 
of farmers letting their hogs run in the 
woods in search of acorns or beech 
nuts, when the crop of corn was scarce. 
But it seems to me that at the present 
time, when the pigs can go to market at 
an early date, or in other words at from 
The: rurae 
CATCHING A WEASEL AWAKE. 
Heading of a Western skunk and his 
work in a recent issue of The R. N.-Y. 
reminded me to tell of my experiences late¬ 
ly. Something came to my ben coop about 
two weeks ago and killed two grown pul¬ 
lets and crippled one. It got into the coop 
through a very small opening, about a two- 
inch crack. We set traps and caught two 
cats, one the first night ande one the next; 
then I took up the traps, because I didn’t 
wish to cripple all the cats in the neighbor¬ 
hood. We did not think we would be both¬ 
ered any more; thought we had all the 
coops closed so that they would be safe. I 
had about 60 half-grown chickens in two 
small coops about 75 feet from the kitchen. 
Our chicken yard is enclosed with welded 
wire. I went out a few mornings ago to 
feed, and on opening one of the small coops 
found 26 dead chickens, every one a nice 
one. Almost all were Plymouth Rocks. 
They were all bitten in the very same place, 
at the base of the head, and I reckoned the 
thief must be very small, as he had got 
through a knothole not more than 1 y 2 
inch in diameter that was in the back of 
the coop about one foot from the ground. 
I had the chickens taken away, except two 
that I kept for bait, but I didn't think I 
would be so lucky as to catch the thief. In 
the afternoon my little boy saw something 
run around the coop and called me. I 
called a neighbor to bring his gun ; he came 
in a hurry. We threw the coop over and 
out popped a weasel, and the gun did the 
rest. He was under the coop eating one 
of the chickens I had saved for bait; had 
been under there all day, I presume. It 
was the first weasel I had ever seen, and 
it w r as hard to believe so small an animal 
could do so much damage. jirs. c. b. 
Virginia. 
Piling or Broadcasting Manure. 
I am having stable manure (from mules) 
hauled out and put on the garden land in 
small heaps of one load in each heap. A 
friend of mine advises to broadcast the 
manure. The land cannot be plowed until 
the last of February or early in March. 
M ould it be better to scatter the manure 
and leave it lying on the ground until 
Febiuary or March before it is plowed un- 
dei, or put in small piles and leave until 
ready to plow and then broadcast? 
JMiijay, ua. $>. E _ 
If the soil is reasonably level without 
any surface wash we would as soon spread 
the manure all over. There will be little 
if any loss, but if the garden is near the 
house this spreading will be more offensive 
than the piles. We think this matter of 
spreading or piling is pretty much a ques- 
• , ot abor . where the land is level, There 
will be but little loss. You will gain little 
except time by spreading now. 
M hen you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and 
"a square deal.” See guarantee page 16. 
NEW-YORKER 
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five to six months of age, they are the 
most profitable. This can be done by 
a little forcing with clover pasture 
added. In regard to the woods pasture, 
if there are so many lilies is it not wet 
or the ground low, which would breed 
disease? If not, perhaps he may suc¬ 
ceed with his venture, but would sug¬ 
gest a small ration of whole corn for 
at least four or six weeks, scattered 
on the ground. It would cause the 
youngsters to hustle for their share, 
and it is surprising how they will grow 
on it. If this man makes a success of 
his experiment, I would like to know 
about it, as I have never been able to 
get something for nothing, as he seems 
to expect. eeias babcock. 
Schoharie Co., N. Y. 
I lack actual experience in pork pro 
duction along the lines suggested i 
your letter, but I consider weaning tim 
the most critical period in a pig’s shoi 
life, and any injury sustained at tha 
time is seldom if ever outgrown; there 
fore I would hesitate to turn pigs o 
that^ age into the Yvoods expecting then 
to find their food, which would be si 
entirely different from the dam’s milk 
I consider the nearer we can keep t( 
nature’s way in feeding, the better re 
suits we may expect. I think this woo< 
lot will do Y r ery well for a hog pasture 
and if sufficient feed and care are give: 
ought to produce pork at a handsomt 
profit. While writing this I have ii 
mind a case which so clearly demon 
strates the results of feed and care tha 
I am going to give it to you. In Ma\ 
last I sold two pairs of pigs, one paii 
equally as good as the other at wean¬ 
ing time. One buyer gave his plentj, 
to eat, while the other thought he coulc 
make pork cheaper to feed a little less 
even if they didn’t grow quite so fast 
I he y killed both pairs the same day 
and when they were weighed the first 
had produced I 6 OJ /2 pounds more pork 
than the second. I found upon inquiry 
that the former had used 300 pounds of 
gram (at $1.50 per 100) more than the 
latter. F c FIELDS _ 
Jefferson Co., N. Y. 
CHEATED FOR YEARS. 
Prejudice Will Cheat Us Often It We 
Uet It. 
You will be astonished to find how 
largely you are influenced in every way 
b\ umeasoning prejudice. In many 
cases you will also find that the preju¬ 
dice has swindled you, or rather, made 
you swindle yourself. A case in illus¬ 
tration : 
“I have been a constant user of Grape- 
Auts for nearly three years,” says a cor¬ 
respondent, and I am happy to say that 
I am well pleased with the result of the 
experiment, for such it has been. 
Seeing your advertisement in almost 
all of the periodicals, for a long time I 
looked upon it as a hoax. But after 
years of suffering with gaseous and bit¬ 
ter eructations from my stomach, to- 
' gether with more or less loss of appetite 
and flesh, I concluded to try Grape-Nuts 
lood for a little time and note the result. 
"I found it delicious, and it was not 
long till I began to experience the bene¬ 
ficial qffects. My stomach resumed its 
normal state, the eructations and bitter¬ 
ness ceased and I have gained all my 
lost weight back. 
"I am so well satisfied with the result 
that so long as I may live and retain my 
reason Grape-Xuts shall constitute quite 
a portion of my daily food.” 
Read “The Road to Wellville,” in 
pkgs. “There’s a Reason.” 
Ever read the above letter? A new 
one appears from time to time. They 
are genuine, true, and full of human 
interest. 
Martin Fertilizers 
again, in 1910, far exceed expectations in sales and 
fTP-v esu * s ' Farmers for 20 or more years using 
fertilizers say they never had as good crops as with 
Martin s: oats over 60 bu., wheat over 30 bu. per 
acre with but 150 pounds. Agents are selling mnrp 
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YVrfre NOW th6 Winter c:in *0 their income^ 
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D. B. MARTIN CO„ 706 Penn Bldg., Pittsburg', Pa, 
UNIVERSAL P cement D COMPANY 
CHICAGO — PITTSBURG 
Northwestern Office: Minneapolis 
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