1172 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
December 17, 
SHALL WE COOK STOCK FEED? 
What is the relative value of cooked and 
uncooked feeds, such as corn and potatoes? 
1 know there is a difference as to their 
feeding value to stock, and understand that 
it is because the cooking renders the starch 
contained more easily convertible into 
sugar. How much is saved or gained by 
cooking? I have never yet seen any state¬ 
ment regarding this, and I am after the 
facts. t. m. o. 
New York. 
Cooking feed for animals is no longer 
practised to any great extent because it 
does not pay. While cooking is said to 
make the starch more digestible, at the 
same time it reduces the digestibility 
of the protein, therefore it is a positive 
damage to some feeds. There is, how¬ 
ever, one exception to this rule. When 
a person has a lot of unmarketable po¬ 
tatoes, turnips, beans or pumpkins, they 
can all be boiled or steamed and mixed 
with ground grains for feeding pigs, es¬ 
pecially those that are being fattened for 
market during the Fall months. Pigs 
fed on a ration of this kind certainly 
make very satisfactory gains, and if the 
cost of cooking is not too great it ought 
to pay well. In fitting animals for ex¬ 
hibition, where the cost is not consid¬ 
ered, cooked vegetables play an import¬ 
ant part, but it is better to feed grain 
without going to the expense of cooking. 
C. S. G. 
THAT MAPES HENHOUSE. 
When the cuts of the Mapes house ap¬ 
peared on pages 538 and 65S, I was at 
once favorably impressed with the de¬ 
sign, and decided to build my next house 
accordingly. Finding my need of another 
house sooner than expected, and not 
having time to build the wall of concrete, 
I built a frame of 2x4 timber, boarding 
it up on both sides, and filled the inter¬ 
space with dry sawdust. For lack of 
room I could only build 16x20. I had 
hardly got it completed when I had to 
put nearly 100 four-months-old pullets 
into it. This was late in July; from that 
time until early in September I never 
saw pullets do better. Many of my 
neighbors called to see both house and 
birds, and all greatly admired both. It 
seemed truly a ‘‘hen heaven,” but the 
second Sunday night of September 
turned it into the reverse, and to my 
sorrow showed me where I had made a 
big mistake. Mr. Mapes says, “Put a 
window in north end.” If for light, yes; 
if for better ventilation, no. I put one 
in and left it open during the hot July 
and August weather. It had continued 
hot up to the night mentioned in Sep¬ 
tember; the day and evening were very 
warm, with wind in southwest. Dur¬ 
ing the night it went about to southeast 
and I awoke Monday morning with a 
house full of roup. I lost several despite 
my best efforts, and the whole lot were 
put back, so but few are now laying, and 
my hopes for eggs when prices were 
high are spoiled. I still think the house 
an ideal one, but in this climate beware 
of that north window. What say others? 
Massachusetts. w. c. latimer. 
Ringbone. 
Three years ago I bought a valuable 
young mare. She had a ringbone on her 
left forward foot that a veterinary sur¬ 
geon had given up as incurable. 1 worked 
at it faithfully for nearly a year. I gave 
the mare her freedom in the pasture. I 
blistered several times with a proprietary 
remedy, then with equal parts of Spanish 
lly, bicarbonate of mercury and lard, 
greased thoroughly for a day or two after 
each application then used a bottle of a 
spavin cure. To-day the mare is sound 
and worth three times what I gave for 
her. Where the ringbone was is hardly 
noticeable. k. 
We have known a young mare spontane¬ 
ously recover perfectly from a combination 
of ringbones, splints and spavins, besides 
cocked ankles and without any treatment. 
She simply outgrew what no doubt was a 
rickety condition, and the bony growths, 
if they really were bony growths, were 
reabsorbed. We have no way of deciding 
what actually was the matter with your 
mare. It may have been a ringbone, as 
you state; or it may have been something 
else. Anyhow it is satisfactory that it dis¬ 
appeared. We wish that were the case 
when a true ringbone causes lameness of 
the fore foot. In bad cases It usually is 
found impossible to remove the Sameiiess 
by blistering and firing and such like 
treatment repeated over and over again 
through years of patient effort; and un¬ 
nerving has to be done. a. s. a. 
FIGURING A COW RATION. 
Will you tell me how I can, to the best 
advantage, use the following food stuffs 
in a ration for cows fed for producing 
milk? 1 have on hand plenty of good Tim¬ 
othy hay, mangels, bran, corn fodder and 
some cow pea hay. Would it be to my ad¬ 
vantage to use molasses in combination 
with the above, and if so, how should it be 
used? G. A. N. 
Indian Orchard, Mass. 
The feeding stuffs you have on hand 
will make a very poor milk-producing 
ration, because they lack the required 
amount of protein or muscle-making 
elements without which it has been 
found impossible to produce milk profit 
ably during the Winter months. To sup¬ 
ply this demand I would suggest that 
you add two or three pounds of cotton¬ 
seed meal or gluten feed to the ration 
for each cow, the quantity depending 
upon the cow’s size and the amount of 
milk she is giving. You would then 
have a ration about as follows: 
Feeding stuffs. 
Dry 
lbs. matter. 
Pro¬ 
tein. 
Carb. 
and 
fat. 
Cow pea hay. 
. 5 
4.3 
.215 
1.705 
Corn fodder. 
.12 
6.96 
.3 
4.476 
Timothy hay. 
. 9 
7.83 
.252 
4.185 
Wheat bran. 
. 0 
5 28 
.732 
2.718 
Cotton-seed meal.. 
. 3 
2.79 
1.116 
1.332 
Mangels . 
. G 
.54 
.066 
.336 
Nutritive ratio 1 
:5.5. 
27.67 
2.681 
14.752 
I would not advise feeding molasses 
while you have plenty of mangels, but 
if you do not have enough mangels to 
last until grass grows in the Spring I 
would substitute molasses or dried beet 
pulp. If you use molasses do not feed 
too much to young growing animals in¬ 
tended for breeding. From one to three 
pounds per clay for each cow will be 
sufficient. First mix the molasses with 
three times as much warm water and 
then wet the grain with this mixture, 
working it well through. If you feed 
the corn fodder cut into short lengths 
it would he a good plan to put the ra¬ 
tion of cut fodder in the manger first 
and then put the sweetened grain di¬ 
rectly on the cut fodder. In this way 
the cows will be induced to eat more 
fodder and clean their mangers out bet¬ 
ter than they will when each is fed sep¬ 
arately. c. s. G. 
DAILY 
OUTPUT 
17,500 
88LS. 
YEARLY 
OUTPUT 
OVER 
6 , 000,000 
ALPHA 
PORTLAND CEMENT 
is absolutely the best that can be made 
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Send for Booklet and learn why it is the best. 
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ADDRESS 
2 Center Square, EASTON, PA. 
Law-Down Steel Wheel Wagons 
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Reading It will Save you time, money and horse flesh. 
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ELECTRIC WHEEL CO., Box48, Quincy, 111. 
120 lbs. 
Milk 
Daily 
on 
« '''l- 5. 
J. J. Larabee 
Demster, N. Y. 
Owner 
Lunde Korndyke, H.-F. 
28 lbs. Unicorn Dairy Ration 
This was the amount of feed used to make the above record. 
The cow was good—The feed good—The result good. 
You certainly can very much increase the yield of 
your own cows by using Unicorn Dairy Ration. 
. . . Write for further particulars . . . 
CHAPIN & CO., Buffalo, N. Y. 
f 
* SILOS'ROINDBARNS 
SHOULD BE CONTRACTED FOR BEFORE CORN PLANTING-CAN SERVE 
YOUR SELF AND NEIGHBORS BY BUNCHING THEM IN CAR LOTS AS 
EARLY BUYERS SAVE MONEY 
AS WE SHALL PAY FREIGHT OVER THE ROAD ONCE ONLY FROM THE MILL 
DIRECT TO YOUR HOME TOWN 
CATALOGUES OF ENSILAGE CUTTERS 
DISTRIBUTORS & CATTLE STANCHIONS 
FOR DAIRYMEN AND FEEDERS 
KALAMAZOO* 
TANK 
SILO 
ICHIGAN. 
SILO CO 
G REEN M OUNTAIN 
HAVE MANY SUPERIOR FEATURES 
GET OUR FREE CATALOGUE 
Creamery Package Mfg, Co., 338 West St., Rutland, Vt. 
Steel Hog Troughs SI.00 
Fine young English Yorkshire Boar. Also 
young pigs. 
I CHAS. H. EMENS, Spring Hill Farm, Binghamton N Y. 
I H C 
Service Bureau 
The Bureau is a 
center where the 
best ways of doing 
things on the farm, 
and data relating to 
its development, are 
collected and dis¬ 
tributed free to 
every one interested 
in agriculture Evety 
available source of 
information will be 
used in answering 
questionson all farm 
s.u bjec ts If the 
questions are sent 
to the I H C Service. 
Bureau, tliey will 
receive prompt at¬ 
tention. 
I H C Spreaders Are 
Equally Good All Over 
A MANURE SPREADER is like a chain— 
as strong as its weakest part. Don’t let 
one or two “exclusive features” influence 
you—don’t be influenced by frills or fancies. Be 
sure that the spreader you buy is substantially 
built all over without a weakness anywhere. 
If you want to be sure of such a spreader—see 
that the I H C trade-mark is on the one you buy; 
then you will know that the material, the princi¬ 
ple, and the construction are right. This trade¬ 
mark is backed by a company that can not afford 
to risk its reputation by offering inferior or ineffi¬ 
cient machines. 
I H C manure spreaders are of proved value—proved 
money-makers. Thousands.of users testify to I II C supe¬ 
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working apron, the wide range of feed, the light draft 
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King and Kemp 20th Century Spreaders are of the return 
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Let the I H C local dealer tell you all about I H C 
spreaders. Let him tell you why it is best for you to in¬ 
vest in an I H C for greatest returns. Get catalogues 
from him, or, write direct. 
INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER COMPANY OF AMERICA 
(Incorporated) 
Chicago USA 
